It'll be interesting to see how many people have Daylight Saving Time issues tomorrow, when their older devices Spring Forward automagically, after their owners did so manually three weeks ago. I don't think any of my gadgets fall into that category, but .. anything's possible.
I only outed two of my co-workers who thought they'd sidestepped the DST issues by manually adjusting their (Windows XP) PC's clocks. Turns out their email messages appeared out-of-sequence in any message threads where the messages were sent within an hour of their arrival. Busted!
Amusingly, both appeared shocked (shocked, I tell you!) that I easily figured out that they didn't patch their systems. Turns out neither of them Trusts Microsoft so they routinely go through life not running Windows Update and thus having fully patched systems. Idiots, both.
* 10 in binary = 2 in decimal. But, you knew that, right?
Saturday, March 31
Friday, March 30
tornado season: opening day is (Sunday) April 1st
Living in Tornado Alley (even if Dallas is generally Where The Alley Starts) can be troublesome. I often forget when Tornado Season Starts and when it ends. Pity it can't be made to coincide with something like Daylight Saving Time. Already (in March) there have been several Tornado Watches. It gets to be very, very routine. Less so if you live in a Mobile Home Park.
Here's the latest RADAR image, showing today's Tornado Watch ("conditions are right") area - the infamous red boxes. I haven't seen a live tornado since living in Louisville (circa 1974) and I've no desire to repeat that procedure. Still, I know it's possible that I'll get Up Close And Personal with one again someday.
With The Watch often comes The Rain. Even though we're technically in a continued drought, we've had our share of Wet the last week or so. One of the challenges is mowing the grass when it's not too wet .. that may have to wait for Monday. Still, with no natural Weather Stoppers (mountains, etc.) most storms blow through here quickly, often Jumping Over Dallas (an Urban Heat Island).
Still, I'm conditioned to listen for the sound of an oncoming train .. the last sound you supposedly hear before a tornado hits. I've (long ago) decided on my home's "safe room" where I can go without thinking if the need arises. It's the place in the center of my home where there are no windows, and presumably a good place to hang out while the storm passes.
Reminds me of when I lived in California and was conditioned to head for the nearest doorframe when an earthquake struck (in the theory that this is the strongest part of most structures).
Alas, I can hear thunder in the distance, so it's time to feed Beta the Wonder Dog and her two feline companions. Just in case we have to duck.
Here's the latest RADAR image, showing today's Tornado Watch ("conditions are right") area - the infamous red boxes. I haven't seen a live tornado since living in Louisville (circa 1974) and I've no desire to repeat that procedure. Still, I know it's possible that I'll get Up Close And Personal with one again someday. With The Watch often comes The Rain. Even though we're technically in a continued drought, we've had our share of Wet the last week or so. One of the challenges is mowing the grass when it's not too wet .. that may have to wait for Monday. Still, with no natural Weather Stoppers (mountains, etc.) most storms blow through here quickly, often Jumping Over Dallas (an Urban Heat Island).
Still, I'm conditioned to listen for the sound of an oncoming train .. the last sound you supposedly hear before a tornado hits. I've (long ago) decided on my home's "safe room" where I can go without thinking if the need arises. It's the place in the center of my home where there are no windows, and presumably a good place to hang out while the storm passes.
Reminds me of when I lived in California and was conditioned to head for the nearest doorframe when an earthquake struck (in the theory that this is the strongest part of most structures).
Alas, I can hear thunder in the distance, so it's time to feed Beta the Wonder Dog and her two feline companions. Just in case we have to duck.
Sunday, March 25
playing with DICE
After mowing the grass yesterday morning ("there's no local storage on a lawnmower") I decided to push (!) the car out of the garage and install The iPod Connector. This will only be the second (probably last) modification I make to the car. Soon after I bought it in 2001, I installed a factory alarm system (mostly plugging into the existing wiring), although much disassembly/reassembly was required. This time would prove similar.
(rewind about 4 weeks)
Most of the iPod<->CarAudio devices use a weak FM transmitter, but I wanted one that integrated well with the steering-wheel controls, so this meant stringing cables. I looked around at the local retailers, but only found übercheap stuff - few of them stock anything of quality since Most Americans Only Want Cheap, Not Good.
After asking around (the local car club was useful, as always), I opted for the iPod Car Integration Kit from DICE Electronics. A few weeks ago I bought the stuff from Bavarian Soundwerks in Atlanta, and it's been sitting on my kitchen table waiting for an opportunity.
Their 15-step instructions were mostly helpful, and I had everything done in an hour or so .. although I had to cheat a bit since the last step involved testing my iPod (which has local storage) with the stereo.
Next, it was time to install the spec.dock (from a company called 2point5™); this mostly low-tech gadget allows me to dock my iPod into the ashtray space, rather than leave the iPod inside the glove compartment, or (worse) dangling from a cable. The instructions from 2point5 weren't as good as for the DICE module, and this resulted in the twoBand-Aids adhesive bandages now on my fingers. Once I began interpreting the directions instead of following them, things became much easier.
This morning, I made the Annual Pilgrimmage to Carl's Jr. (a west-coast QSR chain that is replicated at the Love's Truck Stops here in Texas) and played with my new toy en route. It sounds great, absent a few odd clicking sounds that may be part of The Learning Curve. Since it ties into the CD changer/amplifier in the trunk, it requires pressing [CD] twice to activate it, then the radio buttons [1-6] to do things like "select next album" (button 3) or "select next playlist" (button 2).
(rewind about 4 weeks)
Most of the iPod<->CarAudio devices use a weak FM transmitter, but I wanted one that integrated well with the steering-wheel controls, so this meant stringing cables. I looked around at the local retailers, but only found übercheap stuff - few of them stock anything of quality since Most Americans Only Want Cheap, Not Good.
After asking around (the local car club was useful, as always), I opted for the iPod Car Integration Kit from DICE Electronics. A few weeks ago I bought the stuff from Bavarian Soundwerks in Atlanta, and it's been sitting on my kitchen table waiting for an opportunity.
Their 15-step instructions were mostly helpful, and I had everything done in an hour or so .. although I had to cheat a bit since the last step involved testing my iPod (which has local storage) with the stereo.
Next, it was time to install the spec.dock (from a company called 2point5™); this mostly low-tech gadget allows me to dock my iPod into the ashtray space, rather than leave the iPod inside the glove compartment, or (worse) dangling from a cable. The instructions from 2point5 weren't as good as for the DICE module, and this resulted in the two
This morning, I made the Annual Pilgrimmage to Carl's Jr. (a west-coast QSR chain that is replicated at the Love's Truck Stops here in Texas) and played with my new toy en route. It sounds great, absent a few odd clicking sounds that may be part of The Learning Curve. Since it ties into the CD changer/amplifier in the trunk, it requires pressing [CD] twice to activate it, then the radio buttons [1-6] to do things like "select next album" (button 3) or "select next playlist" (button 2).
Friday, March 23
see ya'll again on Sunday!
Sunday afternoon update:
At midnight Friday, my home became eerily quiet. When I shutdown everything, the fans inside my PCs ceased their background noise. Several times throughout the day Saturday, I started to wander in and Google something, but then caught myself. That night, I could hear not only the crickets chirp, but the dew dropping off the leaves outside (not to mention the Love Sounds of the Neighborhood Cats, but that's another story).
One of the decisions I had to make was what to shut down (most everything has an IC in it these days) .. so I opted for anything with local storage. So, I powered down my (Linux) server; my 4 "desktop/deskside" PCs; and even my TiVo (although it still records stuff even when on Standby). So I wouldn't tempt myself, I turned off the DSL modem/router, too. I didn't power anything back up until Insomnia Time this morning (about 0330) and even then, only one thing at a time - several PCs are still off.
I tried to give feedback on the Shutdown Day website, but got a rather rude reply:
| Your IP address is banned |
Thursday, March 22
POTUS 2008
Yet another Texas Idiot has surfaced: US Congressman Joe Barton (Republican from Ennis, TX). This putz (whose pockets are surely lined with bribes from the oil & energy companies) claims that Global Warming is a fraud. He's probably an IDiot (Intelligent Design) too.
I guess that means he'll soon be the Next Precedent of the United Staits! Rudy and John and Mitt had better watch their backs.
I guess that means he'll soon be the Next Precedent of the United Staits! Rudy and John and Mitt had better watch their backs.
Wednesday, March 21
Only in America
While this is probably tongue-in-cheek and (trust me on this one) not just for the Über-Corrupt Bush-Rove Regime, I'm afraid the need to pass this legislation Absolutely Positively exists: Read The Bills Act (RTBA)
digg story
digg story
Sunday, March 18
GPS? Jeepers!
Last weekend, Judy-Bob was driving around, showing off her new TomTom. While not without its faults, it wasn't a bad GPS. I was able to figure it out without a manual, which is always a plus, and it didn't make any egregious mistakes as we tested locations.
I suspect that Garmin has the market share lead for portable GPS, but I haven't seen the numbers so this is little more than a SWAG. I haven't chanced across one of their units yet, although I suspect they're all using the same basic technology.
Today I knew that we'd be in need of directions to Janice-Bob, so I decided to give the GPS in my cellphone a whirl. Rather than spend a few hundred dollars for a TomTom or a Garmin, why not try the VZ Navigator [VZN] to see if it would meet my needs (at $3/day or $10/month plus some airtime as explained in the FAQ) especially since all I had to do was download a BREW applet to my phone?
When I tried to search by business name, it found many other locations, but not the one I sought. Is the Achilles' Heel the typical GIGO problem (Garbage In, Garbage Out)? Trying to maintain an updated database of retailers - who come and go as the wind changes - is a difficult task.
At our next stop - a clothing store chain - we found an empty store* (I suspect there was a location of this retailer at one time, but the location had long-since closed). Fortunately, there was another one a few miles away, so by then we'd turned off the VZ Navigator (rapidly sucking the battery) and were locating by sight.
After JB dropped me off, I had an errand of my own to run .. only about 3 miles away. I thought I'd amuse myself and see how well it performed this task .. and the results weren't stellar. First, it had a lot of trouble figuring out my location, having to reorient itself a dozen or more times. I suspect it's trying to use cellphone towers to triangulate my location rather than a GPS satellite (!) so I may have been at the mercy of the cellphone network. It seemed to do okay on the freeways, but bogged down when there were lots of small streets nearby. Pre-trip planning seems to be an appropriate part of using this service.
Part of VZ Navigator involves displaying only a local map, and it did a credible job (given the small screen on my cellphone). The voice prompts were nice, although it'd be nice to shut the speaker off when desired - there's no obvious way).
Also, the [Recent Searches] menu doesn't allow individual entries to be cleared, which is annoying .. mine rapidly piled up with bad locations.
Bottom line: VZ Navigator's handy, but not trustworthy .. I'd grade it a C+/B- overall. I'd rather have access to Yahoo! Maps, which gives step-by-step directions. Yet, VZN downloads maps as needed, so any wrong turns could be corrected quickly. And certainly, in a unfamiliar city, it's more useful than stopping at a gas station every mile to ask directions, fer sher. I'd also compare it favorably to the HertzNeverWorks NeverLost which I last used about 8 years ago, IIRC.
Details, if anyone's interested:
phone: Motorola V325 (software R9.1_X_05.28.09P)
BREW 3.1.2
VZ Navigator 2.8.1 Build 40
* if this has been a trip with Jill Wazabob, finding an empty location would be the expectation, not a surprise.
I suspect that Garmin has the market share lead for portable GPS, but I haven't seen the numbers so this is little more than a SWAG. I haven't chanced across one of their units yet, although I suspect they're all using the same basic technology.
Today I knew that we'd be in need of directions to Janice-Bob, so I decided to give the GPS in my cellphone a whirl. Rather than spend a few hundred dollars for a TomTom or a Garmin, why not try the VZ Navigator [VZN] to see if it would meet my needs (at $3/day or $10/month plus some airtime as explained in the FAQ) especially since all I had to do was download a BREW applet to my phone?
Aside: don't know how much airtime I consumed today (at weekend rates) since Verizon appears to have a 48-hour delay in statistics, when accessed from the phone.The verdict? I got mixed results. VZN found the first place (Poor Richard's Cafe in Plano) without breaking a sweat. Then, I gave it a specific street address (on Preston Road) in Plano and it found a different address in Frisco (inexplicably, a different location of the same automotive service chain). Since the locations were 5+ miles apart, this was less than inspiring.
When I tried to search by business name, it found many other locations, but not the one I sought. Is the Achilles' Heel the typical GIGO problem (Garbage In, Garbage Out)? Trying to maintain an updated database of retailers - who come and go as the wind changes - is a difficult task.
At our next stop - a clothing store chain - we found an empty store* (I suspect there was a location of this retailer at one time, but the location had long-since closed). Fortunately, there was another one a few miles away, so by then we'd turned off the VZ Navigator (rapidly sucking the battery) and were locating by sight.
After JB dropped me off, I had an errand of my own to run .. only about 3 miles away. I thought I'd amuse myself and see how well it performed this task .. and the results weren't stellar. First, it had a lot of trouble figuring out my location, having to reorient itself a dozen or more times. I suspect it's trying to use cellphone towers to triangulate my location rather than a GPS satellite (!) so I may have been at the mercy of the cellphone network. It seemed to do okay on the freeways, but bogged down when there were lots of small streets nearby. Pre-trip planning seems to be an appropriate part of using this service.
Part of VZ Navigator involves displaying only a local map, and it did a credible job (given the small screen on my cellphone). The voice prompts were nice, although it'd be nice to shut the speaker off when desired - there's no obvious way).
Also, the [Recent Searches] menu doesn't allow individual entries to be cleared, which is annoying .. mine rapidly piled up with bad locations.
Bottom line: VZ Navigator's handy, but not trustworthy .. I'd grade it a C+/B- overall. I'd rather have access to Yahoo! Maps, which gives step-by-step directions. Yet, VZN downloads maps as needed, so any wrong turns could be corrected quickly. And certainly, in a unfamiliar city, it's more useful than stopping at a gas station every mile to ask directions, fer sher. I'd also compare it favorably to the Hertz
Details, if anyone's interested:
phone: Motorola V325 (software R9.1_X_05.28.09P)
BREW 3.1.2
VZ Navigator 2.8.1 Build 40
* if this has been a trip with Jill Wazabob, finding an empty location would be the expectation, not a surprise.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
