The GOOG just got mapified. 1-800-GOOG-411 now has the option "map it" - you get an instant text message with details and a tiny link. The one I got was http://m.google.com/u/AaC_zD
Interestingly enough, these are just mini URLs, so you can find out what other people are searching for...
http://m.google.com/u/AaC_zE, http://m.google.com/u/AaC_zF, http://m.google.com/u/AaC_zG, http://m.google.com/u/AaC_zH
What I don't understand is why the entire functionality of Google SMS isn't built right into 411. Let's get stock quotes, flight stats and game scores!
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Twitter Goes Down Too Much
It's raining outside. It sounds really cool. It doesn't seem like that's worthy of a full blogger post, but Twitter is down again. Actually, I'm standing in the kitchen on the laptop and using the desktop at the same time. Kinda weird. But I have the window open and there's a really refreshing breeze coming in. I have the lights off, the only light coming from the two computer monitors. Makes you forget all your real troubles for a little while. I guess I might as well just keep writing since I've started now.
I had a really challenging day. I think I mostly handled it well. It was a really rough day where people disconnected pulled the wrong strings. I dutifully went along with it, but my safety net was absent and the choices that were made were ones I wouldn't have made and in some cases, they were really communicated to me in a poor and haphazard manner that left a lot to be desired and caused me and those around me unnecessary work, in some cases, undoing something only to have to redo it. In the end, we pulled it off. At least today's part. Tomorrow we were going to have to do it all over again, but we argued that would really tick off our constituents and finally were able to get through to some cooler heads who agreed with us and offered to play safety net and stand up to the string pullers and explain to them that it was in their best interests not to do tomorrow what they wanted done tomorrow. We'll see it that holds, but I have every confidence that it will.
And now the child who won't go to bed is once again summoning me. No doubt for a get-out-of-bed-free fake claim of needing to use the bathroom. Such an evil ploy because they know you can't deny them because they might be tellng the truth.
I had a really challenging day. I think I mostly handled it well. It was a really rough day where people disconnected pulled the wrong strings. I dutifully went along with it, but my safety net was absent and the choices that were made were ones I wouldn't have made and in some cases, they were really communicated to me in a poor and haphazard manner that left a lot to be desired and caused me and those around me unnecessary work, in some cases, undoing something only to have to redo it. In the end, we pulled it off. At least today's part. Tomorrow we were going to have to do it all over again, but we argued that would really tick off our constituents and finally were able to get through to some cooler heads who agreed with us and offered to play safety net and stand up to the string pullers and explain to them that it was in their best interests not to do tomorrow what they wanted done tomorrow. We'll see it that holds, but I have every confidence that it will.
And now the child who won't go to bed is once again summoning me. No doubt for a get-out-of-bed-free fake claim of needing to use the bathroom. Such an evil ploy because they know you can't deny them because they might be tellng the truth.
Cool at-a-glance scoreboard
ENGADGET.COM -- Everyone knows how much of a diehard sports fan I am. ha, not really. (I don't have the patience.) But I thought this was kinda cool. It wirelessly connects to the internet over your existing router (comes with a very basic one if you don't have one) and shows you team scores and you know, if someone's on base or something. It's kind of a neat novelty thing with its retro look and new-fangled high-techness. Not really a gift for me, but if you know a sports fan, this is something they may really find ingenious. More...
[Jott from James Lamb] I had really a rough day, I am going to lap the days over. I would hope to talk...
| Jott From James Lamb |
 I had really a rough day, I am going to lap the days over. I would hope to talk to someone in deep [unclear speech, please listen] my drive home, but no one is available to talk to. So, I will just cook to my blog and that's that and I am glad the days over. |
| Set reminders, assign, and manage this jott on Jott.com Brought to you by Jott Networks, Inc. |
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Internet Radio Day of Silence
I wanted to post about how I was dubious of the effectiveness of the internet radio day of silence, but ironically, my computer decided to get stuck in an update loop as soon as I docked it at work. And now I only have 15 minutes to prepare an agenda for a meeting. So I'm going to slip on my headphones and crank up LaunchCast Plus and leave the commentary to whoever wants to post a comment.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Portable Power from Trash
CNET.COM -- This is kinda cool. A company has developed a portable incinerator that generates power. They see all kinds of applications, from erasing remote landfills to natural disasters. And it meets Switzerland's and California's stringent pollution restrictions. Sounds like a nice panacea to junk and high energy prices. More...
Test - Jott.com
| This is a test of jott.com, I am supposed to be able to call in and speak and it records it and turns it into text, will see how well it works. |
Free Phone Number
Ok, this is a weird site... Numbr.com - it allows you to get a free number. It automatically expires after 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week and 1 month (your choice) or you can even extend it. It forwards calls to your existing number, can even try a second line if you don't answer, record voicemails (emailed to you), block private numbers and suspected telemarketers, divert all to voicemail during certain hours, interesting stuff like that. Of course, the number is funky.. it's one of 23 area codes and includes a 3-digit code making it look like an old-school pager number.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Laz
I learned tonight that Amazon.com sells windshield wiper blades. It's been on my to do list for at least a month or more but I never made it to AutoZone. So now five blades shipping my way in four separate packages. Not sure why so many packages, but the prices were decent and I'm not paying any shipping. That's lazy.
Although... if I sent my wife to Autozone, they'd install them for her. I guess that's pretty lazy, too, but I won't do that.
Although... if I sent my wife to Autozone, they'd install them for her. I guess that's pretty lazy, too, but I won't do that.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Stupidity in Advertising
Ok, so I caught a AT&Tingular commercial tonight. A woman is calling her husband (who's away on a business trip) to tell him they're expecting. His phone cuts out. She thinks he's stunned, dismayed even. But it shows him literally jumping all over the hotel lobby telling everyone within range. He is jazzed.
Then I saw a second ad. This daughter calls her mom and say she's in Vegas with "John." The mom says "Just don't get married." When there's no response, the mom gets more and more scared. Finally at the end, the mom says "Don't make same mistake I made!"
Then it flashes up a still showing a new phone and says "Great for Dad!"
Then I saw a second ad. This daughter calls her mom and say she's in Vegas with "John." The mom says "Just don't get married." When there's no response, the mom gets more and more scared. Finally at the end, the mom says "Don't make same mistake I made!"
Then it flashes up a still showing a new phone and says "Great for Dad!"
Monday, June 11, 2007
Washington Idea Bank
This is an interesting site, even if they have yet to post my suggestions. (Mine were more ethereal, like updating our image, coming up with an equivalent of California's "the great state of..." and making sure our politicians get screen time other than when they've screwed up or someone's complaining about them.) WashingtonIdeaBank.org
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Out of Control Housing Prices
Yes, folks, this spacious (3,000 square feet - lots of open space, lots of natural light, truly one with nature) one-of-a-kind fixer-upper on a quiet dead-end street can be yours for the low price of just $409k. Zillow.com (Yes, I know I didn't actually ask a question.)
More photos
More photos
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Friday, June 08, 2007
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Sahara - Clive Cussler
I recently saw Sahara. I thought it was an ok movie. Had potential to be much more. But it was a little disjointed, a little implausible. Not as bad as Spiderman 3, but it had its issues. But I could see the "Dirk Pitt(tm)" character having a run of movies.
I enjoyed it enough to read the novel. The novel is about 500 pages of text (with words in English using Arabic lettering) printed on paper for you to read with your eyes which is how most people read when 300 would have been better. That is to say it's very verbose.
The book was so amazingly different from the movie that I think that someone read the book, said "This would make a great movie, if..." and then gave a 5-minute synopsis to someone else who tried their best to make a workable script out of it. In the end, I have more admiration from the film, considering where the movie came from.
If they do another Dirk Pitt movie, I'll see it on video. I won't read another Clive Cussler book. For the last three nights, I've laid here in bed reading it, pausing occasionally to yell at the book demanding that it get finished already.
Next up: Getting Things Done. Someone in the office got a number of copies of GTD. They gave a copy to my boss, who really needs to read it. Well, he hasn't gotten to it, so he gave it to me (despite round-tripping to London next week, though he usually uses the flights to reduce his inbox by several thousand e-mails). I'm looking forward to it. The GTD stuff I've found from Lifehack, Lifehacker, ParentHack and Unclutterer (to name a few) has really been exciting stuff.
I enjoyed it enough to read the novel. The novel is about 500 pages of text (with words in English using Arabic lettering) printed on paper for you to read with your eyes which is how most people read when 300 would have been better. That is to say it's very verbose.
The book was so amazingly different from the movie that I think that someone read the book, said "This would make a great movie, if..." and then gave a 5-minute synopsis to someone else who tried their best to make a workable script out of it. In the end, I have more admiration from the film, considering where the movie came from.
"I'm very glad to hear it," sighed Massarde, letting out a deep sigh.You know how John McClane seems to be so lucky at his inability to get seriously hurt when shot, set on fire, walking across broken glass and falling many stories? Dirk Pitt and his amazing awesomeness makes John McClane look like a wus. Seriously, Dirk's combination of applicable and relevant past experience, strength, wit, knowledge and intelligence borders on ludicrous. (Oh, and he's apparently very handsome and not a womanizer and a very nice guy.)
If they do another Dirk Pitt movie, I'll see it on video. I won't read another Clive Cussler book. For the last three nights, I've laid here in bed reading it, pausing occasionally to yell at the book demanding that it get finished already.
Next up: Getting Things Done. Someone in the office got a number of copies of GTD. They gave a copy to my boss, who really needs to read it. Well, he hasn't gotten to it, so he gave it to me (despite round-tripping to London next week, though he usually uses the flights to reduce his inbox by several thousand e-mails). I'm looking forward to it. The GTD stuff I've found from Lifehack, Lifehacker, ParentHack and Unclutterer (to name a few) has really been exciting stuff.
Cool Site: Newsmap
I think this is pretty cool. Would make an excellent screen saver. Newsmap pings Google News to find out what the biggest stories are and displays them all on a grid. Brighter color for newer article, bigger box for bigger story. Refreshes itself every (15?) minutes. I like to leave it on my second monitor at work when I'm focusing on something on the other monitor.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Let's Get Pink
These guys wrapped their friend's apartment in pink paper. Bummer for him. PinkPrankProject
Monday, June 04, 2007
The Black Void of Nothingness
My friend WorldGirl says that life is meaningless, that there is no point or meaning to life.
I reject this line of thinking. By the very nature of one's ability to ascribe something (or nothing) to their own existence, does that not in itself cause meaning?
If life were in fact meaningless, or without meaning, then we'd all be better off killing ourselves and directing that our ashes be spread over mountainsides covered in wildflowers so that we'd be producing fertilizer to help the plants grow, instead of driving our cars, causing pollution, giving charity and posting blogs to tell others what we think.
Thoughts?
I reject this line of thinking. By the very nature of one's ability to ascribe something (or nothing) to their own existence, does that not in itself cause meaning?
If life were in fact meaningless, or without meaning, then we'd all be better off killing ourselves and directing that our ashes be spread over mountainsides covered in wildflowers so that we'd be producing fertilizer to help the plants grow, instead of driving our cars, causing pollution, giving charity and posting blogs to tell others what we think.
Thoughts?
Friday, June 01, 2007
Match.com: "Hey hey hey. Over here. Yoo, hoo, girlfriend!"
MSNBC.COM -- Ok, this is downright moronic. Woman's suing eHarmony because of its policy of only catering to the heterosexual community. This is all about picking a fight. There are plenty of other dating websites that do allow "men seeking men" and "women seeking women" and I'm sure there are some that only offer such pairings.
In my opinion, it's one thing to demand that someone sit at the back of the bus, or Wal*Mart passing someone over for a promotion because of their skin tone/hair color/sexual preference/accent/etc. and entirely another for you to sue because someone's trying to make money by catering to a specific demographic.
It'd be like a Christian suing JDate or me suing Goodwill-competitor "Out of the Closet" thrift stores for not offering non-flamboyant used clothing. Or Olive Garden for not offering Lobster and Hummis on the menu. (Ok, the last one's a stretch, but still...)
Of course, in our sue-happy culture, this is all about the lawyers and people wanting to get something for nothing just because they can say "boo hoo" and claim they've been slighted because they couldn't find a size zero at Catherines, a size 21 at Forever 21 or a well-made car at a GM, Ford or Chrysler dealership.
If it's the sophisticated matching that eHarmony does (and I've heard people say it's bunk and that they didn't find any matches) that they're after, then it probably won't work to find compatible matches amongst gay people. Instead of harassing eHarmony, go start your own gayHarmony with your own sophisticated matching algorithms designed for the gay dating scene.
*sigh*
In my opinion, it's one thing to demand that someone sit at the back of the bus, or Wal*Mart passing someone over for a promotion because of their skin tone/hair color/sexual preference/accent/etc. and entirely another for you to sue because someone's trying to make money by catering to a specific demographic.
It'd be like a Christian suing JDate or me suing Goodwill-competitor "Out of the Closet" thrift stores for not offering non-flamboyant used clothing. Or Olive Garden for not offering Lobster and Hummis on the menu. (Ok, the last one's a stretch, but still...)
Of course, in our sue-happy culture, this is all about the lawyers and people wanting to get something for nothing just because they can say "boo hoo" and claim they've been slighted because they couldn't find a size zero at Catherines, a size 21 at Forever 21 or a well-made car at a GM, Ford or Chrysler dealership.
If it's the sophisticated matching that eHarmony does (and I've heard people say it's bunk and that they didn't find any matches) that they're after, then it probably won't work to find compatible matches amongst gay people. Instead of harassing eHarmony, go start your own gayHarmony with your own sophisticated matching algorithms designed for the gay dating scene.
*sigh*
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)