Wisegirls

Yesterday, Amy and I watched Wisegirls. It was a mediocre movie, but according to IMDB, it is Mariah Carey’s best movie to date. Unfortunately, it wasn’t even close to Mira Sorvino’s best work.

Celebrity Sighting...

I’m almost certain that I saw Sydney Bristow walking out of Wal-Mart this morning. She was not wearing a disguise (which is obviously the perfect disguise). It also could have been Jennifer Garner or Electra or some random woman. I’m fairly sure, however, that she was packin’ heat.

Whoops!

In what might be a crushing blow to my plans, the Palm Treo 600 is no longer listed on the Verizon Wireless website. I am unwilling to purchase a new phone until Saturday, because that's the first day I get a $100 credit toward a new phone. There's also a $50 rebate that (if I remember correctly) is available until June 18th.

If the Treo 600 is unavailable, I may have to look at alternatives. That would certainly include the Treo 650. It is only $100 more, if I ignore the rebate. In the past, I haven't had great luck with rebates.

The 650 does offer the following advantages:

1. Better screen resolution (320x320 for the 650, compared to 160x160 for the 600)
2. Bluetooth capability in the 650, which means a wireless headset will work
3. Vastly improved camera on the 650, which means better pics for the blog(s)
4. The 650 does have a removable (replaceable) battery
   

There are additional differences here (but at least one item is incorrect - the camera is not 1.3 megapixels.)

New Blog - Look for announcement

I will be launching a new blog next Saturday (June 18th). Stay tuned for a formal announcement. It will not replace Does the fun ever start?. It will target a different audience.

Gubernatorial

Now that's a funny word...

Mac Zealots – A special breed

The other day, I was listening to the Daily Source Code and Adam Curry was talking about a problem that’s been plaguing his PowerBook. While he’s recording the podcast and is playing an MP3, sometimes the sound stops for a short time (.25 seconds) and then resumes. He blames it on his external LaCie hard drives. Adam often complains about what a bear Windows is to keep running, because Windows is the problem. I think it’s funny that when a Mac has a problem, it must be hardware, but when a Windows PC has problems, it must be the Operating System.

The fact is that Apple systems tend to be more reliable because there are less variables. One company makes Macintosh computers. One company designs them. One company sells them. One company supports them.

Windows PC’s are made by many major brands plus thousands and thousands of smaller manufacturers and everybody’s brother-in-law. Windows is a very stable operating system and has been for many years (at least ten). I have fixed tons of systems that people were ready to ‘throw out the window’ because they were unreliable.

You will have a more reliable system if you do the following:

1. Buy a system from a known and reliable vendor (I have a bottom of the line Dell Dimension)
2. Install service packs and hotfixes
3. Install and configure a firewall (I use ZoneAlarm)
4. Use Firefox as your browser (I have since it was called Phoenix v.4)
5. Install and configure a anti-virus program (I use AVG)
6. Only install programs you plan to use (I’m not a software collector)

Not my fault...

Today, I will not be able to meet my daily swim commitment. The pool was closed, due to a power failure (it's an indoor pool and apparently the room is dark). I will make it up on a weekend day.

Out on a limb...

I seem to be the only one in the blogosphere, but I don't believe for a minute that Apple is going to start using Intel chips. Everyone seems to think that this will be announced today.

World's first disposable digital camcorder

"The introduction of the disposable film camera significantly grew the photography industry by making photography accessible and affordable to anyone," said Mike Wolf, Director of Digital Photography Trends at InfoTrends/CAP Ventures. "One-time-use camera category has grown to be 218 million units annually and we expect it to account for 38% of total film volume in the U.S. in 2005. A simple and affordable one-time-use digital camcorder could spur growth in the digital video market in a similar way."

"We believe that capturing and sharing high-quality, digital home movies should be a fun and easy experience," said Jonathan Kaplan, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, Pure Digital Technologies, Inc. "Our partnership with CVS/pharmacy delivers a complete digital home video solution that is affordable and simple enough for even novice users."

Video Camcorder Features and Benefits

• Simple-to-use, pocket-sized camcorder weighs under 5 ounces
• Holds 20 saved minutes of digital quality video and sound
• 1.4 inch color playback screen
• Ability to playback and delete videos
• Return to any CVS/pharmacy 1-hour photo lab for DVD

DVD Features and Benefits

• Simple viewing on DVD players or computers with DVD drive
• Convenient archiving and storage
• Email video and video greeting cards as easily as digital photos with SmartShare(TM) computer application
• No email system or software installation required

Through its partnership with Pure Digital, CVS/pharmacy is the first to bring digital one-time-use video cameras to consumers. Exclusively available now in over 1,400 CVS/pharmacy locations nationally, the cameras will be available in over 4,500 stores by June 26th. The CVS Digital One-Time-Use Video Camcorder retails for only $29.99. Video camera processing is $12.99 and includes a CVS DVD built with technology for easy viewing, sharing and archiving of home videos.

Source: http://www.gizmag.com/go/4124/

Posted using w.bloggar

I jut downloaded and installed w.bloggar. It's an app which is supposed to make blogging easier. Actually, why don't I let the authors explain it's purpose.

The w.bloggar is an application that acts as an interface between the user and one or more blog(s); in other words, it is a Post and Template editor, with several features and resources that the browser based blog editors do not offer.

Church in Georgetown

IMG_3615
Originally uploaded by eschulz.
Amy I went and shot some pictures today in Georgetown. I took about 50 and really liked this one. One or two others may be post-worthy, but not right now.

The Zoo

The Scorpions best song: The Zoo
Best place to see a variety of animals: the zoo

Related to the redesign...

I had tried to add much larger pictures. It caused problems at 800x600 which some of my visitors use. One of my faithful readers reported this issue at (763)322-1842. Because of the 100% money back guarantee we offer, I had to go back to smaller pictures. (It wasn't just YFML, I had the same problem on my laptop). You can still click the pictures get the larger ones.

These sentences sound the same to me...

Stick it in your ear.
Stick it in your rear.

Observations - Kenneth Reed Golden

My friend Ken died about 20 years ago. I didn't know him for that long. I met him when he was recovering from a brain tumor. We were the only two programmers (now they're called developers) at an insurance company. I wrote all of the user interface stuff (the part of the program you interact with) and Ken wrote the important stuff. One evening, Ken and I ordered a pizza and after about 15 minutes, Ken said "Time never passes as slowly as when you're waiting on a Pizza from Chanello's".

Soon after that Ken's cancer came back and it killed him on 12/23/1985. I'm older now than he was then. He made an impact on my life and I miss him. This post started as a way to quote Ken and make it funny. Instead, I feel like I needed to share a little about him. Ken left a daughter who would be in her mid 30's now. I want her to know what a great guy her dad was.

My observations (Schulz's Laws)

1. People who are spontaneously funny are often unable to tell jokes well. Conversely, people who tell jokes well are generally not spontaneously funny. The reason for this is that inherently funny people do not need to rely on "jokes" to get laughs. However, in order to get laughs, the unfunny person is forced to learn them.

2. People who are smart and confident feel comfortable answering questions with a reply of, "I don't know." People who are less confident or less smart often feel the need to answer all questions, regardless of their lack of knowledge on the subject.

I may add to these in the future.

Another Pet Peeve:...

People who say something is "three times smaller" or "twice as slow." These are incorrect and make little sense. The correct way to state these ideas is "one third as large" or "one half the speed." These make perfect sense and are correct.

Bob Woodward reveals how Mark Felt became Deep Throat

Recently, the news broke that Mark Felt was the Watergate scandal's elusive Deep Throat. This is a fascinating article by Bob Woodward on how Felt became Deep Throat.

The Oasis destroyed by fire

Located 450 feet above Lake Travis, The Oasis offers breathtaking views of the Texas Hill Country and spectacular sunsets! Enjoy the scenery from one of the 40 plus outdoor decks, or inside from one of the enchanting dining rooms.

It was a great place (and hopefully, will be again). It was destroyed by fire this morning.

The Associated Press reports that authorities speculate that the fire might have been sparked by a lightning strike. No injuries were reported.

Media reports indicate owner Beau Theriot has pledged to rebuild The Oasis.

7.5 miles, 25 yards at a time ...

I just got back from the Clay Madsen Recrecreation Center. I swam just over a third of a mile. I plan to do that at least 22 times this month (every weekday in June) which will be almost exactly 7.5 miles. This kid loved to swim.