Sunday, February 18, 2007

Event Viewer on Vista

Looks like the Event Viewer got a major overhaul on Vista. You can create views that filter on chosen criteria. I just created an "application errors" view, which only shows Error events from the Application log. Pretty cool!

Friday, February 16, 2007

Mark Suppelsa

I guess it's a celebrity week for me. I was at Elephant & Castle last night. After a few rounds, I tried talking to this random girl. She told me she worked at Fox News and then I realized that the guy she was sitting next to was Mark Suppelsa. So I got a picture. She didn't like being included in the shot, so she quickly exited the frame. Too bad.

Mark Suppelsa and Me

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Leslie Hunt on American Idol

I was in choir in high school with Leslie Hunt, who's a finalist on this season's American Idol. It's a show I don't normally watch, but this season, I think I'll have to. This is about the closest I've ever been to knowing a celebrity. That makes me famous, too, right? :)

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Windows Mobile 6 Standard

A photo tour of Windows Mobile 6 Standard Edition (Standard is the new name for Smartphone). What intrigues me most is that this is installed on an HTC S620/Excalibur, the OEM version of the T-Mobile Dash (evidenced by the Windows Update screenshot and the JOGGR settings). I wonder if I can upgrade my device!

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Steve Jobs on DRM

Steve Jobs on DRM.

Why would the big four music companies agree to let Apple and others distribute their music without using DRM systems to protect it? The simplest answer is because DRMs haven't worked, and may never work, to halt music piracy. Though the big four music companies require that all their music sold online be protected with DRMs, these same music companies continue to sell billions of CDs a year which contain completely unprotected music. ...

So if the music companies are selling over 90 percent of their music DRM-free, what benefits do they get from selling the remaining small percentage of their music encumbered with a DRM system? ...

Convincing them to license their music to Apple and others DRM-free will create a truly interoperable music marketplace. Apple will embrace this wholeheartedly.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Ouch

Friday afternoon I left Chicago right after work to head out to Kingston for a get together with family. I was going to spend the night, so I had dropped a bag off at my car that morning so that I could make a quick getaway right after work.

I got to my car and really wanted to brush my teeth, so I fished out my toiletries bag and dug out my toothbrush and toothpaste. The toothpaste was frozen--I couldn't squeeze any of it out. So I capped it back up and packed up the bag. It was then that I noticed a patch of blood on the side of my right index finger. I hadn't felt a thing; my fingers were numb from the minute or two with my gloves off while I wrestled the toothpaste. When I reached into my bag, my razor lopped off a large chunk of skin. The wound was shallow, but it was a wide patch. The blood was a trickle, so I put the knuckle in my mouth and sucked the blood away. Once my finger warmed up, however, the blood started to really flow. It was challenging to keep the blood under control when I had to take the finger out of my mouth to shift the manual transmission of my car. I dug around looking for napkins or something to close up the wound. All I had was a clean sock that I had packed for the next morning.

And that is how I came to show up at my Aunt & Uncle's house with a bloody sock wrapped around my finger, asking if they had any bandages I could borrow. Three days later, the wound is still oozing; I wonder if it will scab up, and if it will leave a scar.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Peapod

I just did my first grocery order with Peapod, and let me tell you folks, it was amazing. I picked a two hour delivery window, and when the guy showed up, I buzzed him in and he rolled a dolly loaded with my groceries right to my door. My fridge and pantry are now stocked for the first time in months. The first order took a bit of work roaming through the various online "aisles," but next time I can pull up a list of what I've purchased in the past and just set quantities. How awesome is that? Delivery charges are reasonable (and justifiable if it saves me from eating out one or two meals). The produce is very good quality. I'm hooked!