Hill Country Pasta

Saturday night, we had a nice dinner at Hill Country Pasta. The food and service were fantastic. One thing that really impressed me was this bar made from wine crates.

When Aliens Invade...Remember the Alamo

We just got back from seeing Mr. and Mrs. Smith at the newest Alamo Drafthouse. I took this picture in the lobby with the Treo.

Broke down...

Today, I somehow managed to hurt my back. I took it easy this morning and drove to work. I was there about ten minutes and realized that I couldn't work today. I came home and took it easy and it's almost completely healed. I didn't do much but lay on the couch.

I watched Collateral (DVD), and a couple of episodes of H1t Me Baby One More Time. After watching those two episodes, I deleted every other one off of the DVR. It's not easy to watch.

7.5 miles, 25 yards at a time (conclusion)...

Today, I swam almost a half-mile, which concludes my swim commitment for the month of June with 7.5 miles completed.

My PDA History

My PDA history goes back almost nine years.

In Sept. 1996, I bought a Compaq Companion C120. This was Pegasus, the very first release of Windows CE. The hardware was awesome.. It had a 480x240 monochrome (4 shades of grey), 2MB and a PCMCIA slot, but the operating system needed work. Actually, what needed work was the synchronization software. It was called HPC Explorer and it wasn't great. A while after I bought it, I purchased an upgrade chip from Compaq which upgraded it Windows 2.0 and added 2MB. That gave the ability to run ActiveSync. That's when Windows CE started to make sense. I used that PDA for years and still have it. It still works well.

Next, the Windows CE 2.0 Palm size device came out and I thought I needed one. I purchased a Philips Nino 301. I had thought that this 'upgrade' would hold me for a while, but I never really liked the Nino. It had A 320X240 monochrome (4 shades of gray), 4MB of RAM and a Compactflash slot. ActiveSync got better and better and is the single most important component of the Windows CE OS.

I made the jump to PocketPC's later than most. I got an @migo from UR There in June of 2002. This company wasn't around very long. I bought it on eBay from an individual who said he was owed money by UR There and was paid in PDA's. Until it died a few months later, it was awesome. It had a beautiful 320x240 color screen (65,535 colors), 32MB RAM, and a PC Card slot (they used to be called PCMCIA slots). I paid $160. My wife and I watched movies on it in the airport. I connected to wireless networks before most others with PDA's could. It was a great PDA.

By the time it died, my work situation had changed (no work situation) and I was forced to go low budget. I bought a used monochrome Compaq iPaq 3135 in July 2003 (again on eBay) for $51 (shipped). It was trailing edge and I was able to buy extra sync cables and chargers at a 99¢ Only store. It had a 320x240 monochrome (16 shades of grey), 16MB and no card slots ( expansion sleeves were available but expensive). It was a decent PDA and is still around the house somewhere.

In June of 2005, I upgraded my Verizon Wireless cellphone to a Treo 600. It cost me $149 (after rebate). It has a 160x160 color screen, 32MB RAM, and an SDIO slot. I wrote half of this post on it. It does so much more than earlier PDA's because of the phone integration and unlimited Internet access. I am not as fond of HotSync as ActiveSync and the Outlook integration is not as tight as I would prefer, but I am very pleased.

Note: This article was originally posted to the TreoVida blog on date listed. It was moved to Does the fun ever start ? on Sunday, October 23, 2005.

The stars are aligned against me...

Yesterday morning, I showed up at Clay Madsen Rec Center to swim at 9:00. The damned water aerobics women had all but two lanes blocked. Each of those lanes had two swimmers already and one person waiting. Since it was late, I didn't have another chance to swim yesterday.

Since there are no more weekend days this month to make it up, I decided I would add 8 laps each day for the next 3 days which will allow me to make my commitment (distance). Today, I got up early and showed up about 6:15 and every lane was in use. I came home and then went back about 8:45 and was able to swim 32 lengths (.45 miles).

I want to make a commitment for July, but I need to leave myself alternatives to swimming when that's not an option. I do plan to up swimming to a half mile (.51 miles) when I do swim.

eReader.com: Free eBook each day in July

Every day in July, eReader.com is featuring a different eBook as a completely free download. This is in addition to the free eBooks they normally offer. I downloaded the reader yesterday and a couple of books (The New Testament of the King James Bible and The Hacker Crackdown). July starts on Friday, so go ahead and register and be ready when the first free eBook is available.

The reader is available in a free and paid version. I (naturally) got the free version for the PalmOS (it is a multiplatform product). I will try to review it in the near future.

Note: This article was originally posted to the TreoVida blog on date listed. It was moved to Does the fun ever start ? on Sunday, October 23, 2005.

Round Rock Express game

Tonight we went with friends to see the Round Rock Express beat the Albuquerque Isotopes. I didn't get a lot of great pictures, but I liked this one.

Great time yesterday...

Yesterday, our trip to Gruene was outstanding. This picture was taken outside The Gristmill. Chuck and Susan were a hoot and three-quarters. We were hoping to see them again tonight at the Heybale show at The Continental Club tonight but declined in the interest of being able to work tomorrow.

We'll see them again in 6 weeks when we're in Alabama.

They were out of water...

Today's awesome plans

1. Pick up extended family at their hotel. (Amy's sister's husband's brother & his wife - that was less confusing than the other two versions of the theory of relativity)
   
2. Drive to Gruene, TX (pronounced GREEN)
3. Hang out for an hour or so and visit a couple of shops
   
4. Have a nice dinner at The Gristmill River Restaurant and Bar
5. Enjoy The Derailers (blog tour) at Gruene Hall (Texas' Oldest Dance Hall)

Yes, you have seen a version of these plans before. First, we need to get the house cleaned up. I just finished mowing and am just taking a break to cool off.

Treo Freeware: Today

The above screenshots are from Today v2.2, which is a very Windows CE / Pocket PC kind of application. It's a powerful application which can work as your primary interface to the built-in PIM. The first screenshot above is the opening screen and while it's not busy, there are a number of options available.

Screenshot Explanation:

• Top Row: Just to the right of the word Today is the amount of internal memory and to the right of that is the battery meter. The next item on the top row is the .|..|:: (Day/Week/Months) selector which switches between the three screens shown here. The left and right arrows move backward and forward through the data by day, week or month (depending on what screen you're on).
• Clock Icon: Displays the date and time. This launches the Date & Time Preference screen.
• Owner: This launches the Owner Preference screen.
• Calendar: Displays today's appointments. This launches the calendar application.
• eMail: Displays unread emails here. This launches the email application.
• Tasks: Displays active tasks. This launches the Tasks application.
• Bottom Row: The launcher on the bottom row launches the Contacts, Memo, Tasks and Calendar applications.

Today is Freeware and is recommended.

Note: This article was originally posted to the TreoVida blog on date listed. It was moved to Does the fun ever start ? on Sunday, October 23, 2005.

Treo Freeware: Snap

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I have been using Snap to grab Treo screenshots (in this case, Snap itself). It does require an SD card and creates the screenshots in /palm/programs/Snap/ on that card (that directory must be exist or be created). It works as advertised and in the short time I've used it, I haven't had any issues.

Screenshot explanation:

• The application is enabled (Enabled is highlighted)
• Snap Key: The Power button is set to capture the screen
• File Prefix: All screenshots will have "Snap-" at the beginning of the filename
• Auto-disable is enabled, which means the program will be disabled after capturing the first screen. The alternative would be to uncheck this and capture all needed screenshots and then launch the program again and choose Disabled

Snap is Freeware and is recommended.
Note: This article was originally posted to the TreoVida blog on date listed. It was moved to Does the fun ever start ? on Sunday, October 23, 2005.

Lexar 128MB SD Card

Lexar 128MB SD Card
Originally uploaded by eschulz.

The screenshot program I use requires an SD card so I fet like I needed to get one. My limit was $20 and I ran by Wal-Mart and they had a Lexar 128MB SD Card in that price range. I have moved some applications to it, I put a couple of movie trailers on it and I've used about 11MB, so I can still add a couple of podcasts.

Cost (before tax): $19.99

Note: This article was originally posted to the TreoVida blog on date listed. It was moved to Does the fun ever start ? on Sunday, October 23, 2005.

Website redesign at 4am

I was awakened about an hour ago by a sudden onslought of Acid-Reflux. Since I've been eating healthier, this has very rarely happened to me. Tonight we were watching the Spurs (National Champions!) and I had a couple of slices of pizza which is what caused it. When this happens about the only thing that helps is to take a Zantac 75 and drink a quart of water.

Usually, I come into the office and surf the net for about an hour and go back to bed. So, tonight, I checked my blog and it was broken (actually it was BROKEN). I decided to try to fix and nothing worked, so I chose a new template that's similar to the old one and added all of the stuff that is normally on the right side of the screen. I think it looks OK. If not, please leave a comment here or on my comment line at (763)322-1842.

Bonzai USB 2.0 SD Card Reader

Amazon sells a very small SD card reader. The Bonzai USB 2.0 SD Card Reader is less than 10 bucks and should fit in the smallest gear bag. I'll try to get one for review.

Note: This article was originally posted to the TreoVida blog on date listed. It was moved to Does the fun ever start ? on Sunday, October 23, 2005.

Inexpensive (Cheap) furniture

Home Reserve looks pretty interesting. Their furniture is ready-to-assemble. It is shipped via UPS, the fabrics can be replaced and each of the items includes storage space. I'm tempted to purchase a chair or ottoman, just to see what it's like.

Sofa $346 = $299 + $47 Shipping
Loveseat $276 = $239 + $37 Shipping
Chair $196 = $169 + $27 Shipping
Ottoman $96 = $79 + $17 Shipping

What I don't know about basketball....

We just watched the San Antonio Spurs lose and at one point, Hubie Brown said

If you front the low post guy, you've got to jam the passer and make it difficult.

Should I know what that means ?

Not bleeding edge technology...

For those who think that I am ahead of the curve on the smartphone movement, please let me point out that I bought this phone on the two year anniversary of this article about it from Treo Central. It's more like fleeting edge.

Note: This article was originally posted to the TreoVida blog on date listed. It was moved to Does the fun ever start ? on Sunday, October 23, 2005.

Belkin accessories on the cheap...

Last weekend, Amy and I went to the 99¢ Only Store in Rosenberg. I have been to this one before and they often have PDA accessories. I've bought sync cables and cases for my old iPaq (which I haven't seen in quite a while). This time, since I knew I was going to be getting a Treo, I bought some Belkin screen overlays and styli.

The styli were a three pack for an HP Jornada 560. I doubt that they'll fit in the Treo stylus holder. They are, however, incredibly cheap and they are perfectly useful as styli. I can keep one in my truck, one at home, and one at desk. I think I'll be able to use monofilament line to keep them tethered. The less I take out the actual Treo stylus, the less likely I am to lose it.

The screen overlays come in packets of 12 and include a screen cleaning cloth and a "smoothie card" for getting rid of bubbles. I bought one package for the Handspring Visor Edge and one for the Palm i705. They have to be cut to fit the smaller Treo screen. I've read that when talking on the Treo, oils from your face can damage the screen. This seems like cheap protection. I cut one to fit yesterday and slapped it on and it seems OK.

Cost (before tax): $2.98

Note: This article was originally posted to the TreoVida blog on date listed. It was moved to Does the fun ever start ? on Sunday, October 23, 2005.