You know you are a web geek when...

1. You watch more TV shows and movies on your computer than you do on TV and the movie theatre.
2. You spend more time blogging about movies than watching them.
3. You are genuinely excited whenever Apple releases a new computer (even though it only makes your current MacBook more obsolete).
4. You IM people who are right next to you instead of talking to them.
5. Your wife IM's you to get your attention.
6. You don't need a blankie because your laptop keeps you warm at night.
7. When you do finally get tired of using your laptop you pick up your phone and surf the web there.
8. If it isn't online it doesn't exist.
9. You open your laptop before you brew your first cup of coffee.
10. When you call your laptop your wife and your wife your mistress.
    

Getting back to Flex

So one of my upcoming projects may involve Adobe Flex so I am trying to get my brain Flexy again. It's been almost a year since I coded anything in that language so I am trying to get back into all the usual concepts (code behind, cairngorm, etc...).

Of course the day I decide I am going to start looking at this, Flex Builder 3 is released (along with Adobe AIR, codenamed Apollo) which leaves me with a conundrum. Do I start this project in Flex 2 or 3? I am not really a fan of "brand new" tech as it normally has a lot of bugs that need working out, but those geniuses (geniui?) at Adobe have finally put in some backwards compatibility. Also it doesn't look like the language has changed much (mainly the IDE) which is a great relief (there was a huge jump between Flex 1 and 2).

So with the release of Adobe AIR I can finally call myself a Desktop developer too (as AIR allows you to write desktop apps with web app languages). If only they would switch over to Ruby from ActionScript though (then my life would be complete...).

New Adobe camera has 19 lenses

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/adobe-light-field-lens

 

This thing is cool. Not only does it allow you to make 3D pics, but you can also choose variable focal lengths in the picture (click on the link to see it in action).

 

I am guessing there is a software component to this too (duh).

Youtube is back up again!

Yay! Sign of relief...

Hmmm it seems like YouTube is down...

I was just updating my layouts and I noticed that all my YouTube videos were blank. After further investigation I found that I cannot access YouTube at all.

Let me know if you see any big blank spaces where videos should be.

Thanks

Excel as a database

http://www.neopoleon.com/home/blogs/neo/archive/2003/09/29/5458.aspx

This is just too funny (especially the Kodak funtime camera).
Unfortunately they left out Powerpoint (which seems to be the preferred choice of my marketing team).

Comment: Are you an Internet Producer or Consumer?

Most people who use the Net nowadays really fall into one of two categories.

1) Internet Consumers - This is most of us. We may occasionally paste some video into Facebook, but we normally use the Net to swap emails, read the news and occasionally look at pictures of other naked people.
2) Internet Producers - Leaving aside the techies for a moment (the people who "build" the Internet), these are the people who are obsessed with getting their points across, their opinions discussed, their crappy music demo listened to, and posting naked pictures of themselves online for the Consumers to look at (oh yeah, let's not forget those budding young stars trying to get their 3 minutes of YouTube fame).

Ok, so most of us probably fall somewhere in the middle. We blog, we may occasionally post something to YouTube, and maybe we daydream about being naked online before we realize what a bad career move that is...

For about 10 years now I have been making a living as one of these people who "build" the Internet. Were it not for this wonderful piece (pieces) of technology I would still be living in my parents' basement, but lo and behold, I now have a lucrative career. But you know what? There's not one of us "techies" who doesn't dream about either making history or having a blog so popular you only need to work on it 3 hours a day.

For a long time now, I have been pretty much a consumer outside of my professional life. I would post questions on bulletins when I had a technical question and lo and behold, someone would answer it. Tonight I decided to try and give back to the tech community, but every time I saw a question I knew the answer to, someone had beaten me to answering it.

So instead I decided to write this little article to keep you all amused.

It's my way of giving back to the community...

I must remember to post this on Reddit.com so I will get a few page views.

;)

$2 HDMI cables on Amazon

http://gizmodo.com/355350/wowzerscheapest-hdmi-cable-weve-ever-seen-is-2

 

Of course shipping and handling is probably another $20...

Evolution of Tech company logos

http://www.neatorama.com/2008/02/07/the-evolution-of-tech-companies-logos/

You gotta wonder what your new Nokia cell phone would look if it had the old logo on it...

Where is the computer?

http://www.macobserver.com/article/2008/02/06.8.shtml

Danish Police were apparently confused while trying to confiscate someone's 1G iMac thinking it was only a monitor.

• 'Where's the computer?' he said.
• 'On the desk. That's the computer,' I said.
• 'No, the computer.'
• 'That's the computer, dude.'

I wonder if "dude" is a literal translation from Danish.

Personally I remember the 1st generation iMacs and the guy was lucky not to get arrested for taste reasons alone (what with those garish candy coated colours...).

Why's Poignant Guide to Ruby

I wished I could re learn every programming language using a guide as poignant as this.

http://poignantguide.net/ruby/

I wonder if this guy has any plans to write a JavaScript tutorial too. I wonder how he would handle closures and prototype using elves and talking foxes...

Mmmmm, Specialties...

Yum, if you have never been and you want to get a really nice cookie, I recommend going to Specialty's in San Francisco. My coworker likes the Milk Chocolate Chip, but my favourite is Oatmeal Raisin (I have always like OR, but this one is really really good!).

Their sandwiches and salads are really good too (though get your drinks somewhere else because $2 for a bottle of juice is ridiculous).

The Chicken Nugget/Soda cup

Ok, this invention takes the cake (except cake is the only thing that's missing).

You can now have your chicken nuggets and soda in the same container!

I am flabbergasted. The only thing that's missing is a way to inject the grease and sugar directly into your veins...

Geek T Shirts

http://blog.youdesignit.com/2008/01/25/geek-t-shirts-top-eleven/

Ah yes, where would we be without geek shirts?

Of course the only geek shirts I have are of dead dot coms for which I used to work.

Faked Viral Videos

You know all those cool viral videos that are supposedly making ordinary people into online mega stars? Fake.

Then again, Pauly Shore was already a mega star...

Hello Kitty pizza

Mmmmm Pizza.

I am a little hungry. I'm hungry for kitty!

You gotta love the bow shaped bacon. I wonder if they have a vegetarian option...

Fat people are cheaper to treat

Skunk is a fat cat
Originally uploaded by j-a-x

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080205/ap_on_he_me/obesity_cost

According to a Dutch study, fat people and smokers don't live as long as healthy people and in the long run actually cost the health system less money.

Beer and cigarettes anyone?

Then again treating fat people out to a meal can be a little more expensive...

PS, I know this is a picture of a fat non smoking cat and not a fat smoking human, but he's cuter...

iPod touch now up to 32GB

http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/

Now we're talking Apple.

If only there was a way we could add a phone to this thing...

So that's what that noise is...

http://www.sfgov.org/site/mainpages_page.asp?id=30332

It seemed to me that every Tuesday at noon we were about to start WW3. I guess I was mistaken...

It's just the Tuesday noon siren.

All clear, nothing to worry about.

Snoop Dogg takes Larry King out for Chicken and Waffles

Mmmmmmm, I've been to the one in Oakland and it's goooooood.



Larry is such a pimp.

BTW I am not sure if the Sushi Inspectors would like this place.

Good Code vs Bad Code

I think we need to implement this system in my office...

 

Oh wait, we already do.

;)

Unboxing the Apple IIc

http://flickr.com/photos/dansays/sets/72157603835099525/

This is one for the Apple fanboys. This guy bought an unopened Apple IIc on ebay and decided to open it (thankfully he documented the process).

I remember having an Apple II clone back in the day. The lessons I had in WordStar are the reasons I am a web developer today (what with all those start and end tags that you would only see when printed).

Maybe someone still has a WordStar disk that is unopened?

Solar powered lighter

Whoops, I forgot the link...

http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2008/02/the_solar_light.html

Solar Lighter

A solar powered lighter?! I have got to get my wife one of these things...

I don't know what she will do if it is raining though...

I also don't know how she will smoke at night...

It would make a nice ashtray though. It could incinerate the ashes.

Tattoo Tan

http://www.letsgettalking.com/a-tattoo-and-a-tan-in-one

Obviously doesn't take into account the fact that you will look like a total dork on the beach in your bathrobe...

Hollywood writer's strike over?

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/chernin-tells-super-bowl-pals-strike-is-over/

One the one hand it means yay, Heroes is back! On the other hand, it means boo, every other crappy show that was previously on hiatus is back (Grey's Anatomy anyone?).

Valerio's bakery

Whoo hoo, we found a Valerio's bakery "near" here. This means lots of Filipino baked goodies (mostly sweet breads with variations of cheese and/or coconut). Mamon, bibinkga, ensaimada, etc...

Of course all of it using super refined flour and lots of sugar, but hey, you only live once.

:)

I guess you tend to sweat it all off if you live in Manila...

Sunshine

I just saw an awesome Sci Fi movie called Sunshine with Cillian Murphy and Michelle Yeoh (directed by Danny Boyle of Trainspotting fame). Basically it was a plausible (in the sense that it could happen) sci fi movie with no aliens but lots of tension and some pretty kick ass special effects (kind of like an updated version of 2001). I am surprised it was pretty much a straight to video affair (but then again, not that surprised considering how dumbed down Hollywood is nowadays).

In the far future, a group of scientists head out to the dying sun in order to kick start it again with a large nuclear weapon. They are following a failed mission (Icarus 1) and on the way to the Sun they get a mysterious distress signal.

In any case, definitely check it out if you like cerebral Science Fiction. Hopefully the DVD sales will do really well.

This cat can surf!

Pics of a surfing cat in Peru. I couldn't even get my cat to take a bath...

Priceless

Speaking of Pizdaus...


Priceless

Facebook for pre-teens

Wow, I wish I thought of it (though the legal fees will be exorbitant once the first predator gets caught using this site). Apparently Club Penguin is a Facebook/MySpace clone for pre teens. They were also just bought by Disney as well (of course...). Social networks seem to be on the way out in any case (Facebook gave them a small boost with their applications, but after being sent innumerable virtual drinks which one couldn't consume in real life and getting spammed by the site 200 times a day most people got bored of it).

So I guess here is how one progresses through life on social networks
Club Penguin
MySpace
Facebook
LinkedIn

Going by this, it looks like the next 2 markets for social networks are babies and senior citizens. Any investors out there? There has got to be a way we can get old folks to hook up and make money off them... After all they have a lot of time and money on their hands...

When am I going to get an iPhone?

Yeah sure, iPhones are cool. Everyone wants one, even me in a way, but Steve Jobs has a long way to go to attract me as a customer.

1) Lose the AT&T exclusivity. Why must I be forced to join AT&T to get an iPhone? I like T-Mobile (more or less). I want to stay on T-Mobile and not have to hack my iPhone in order to use it.
2) Replace-able battery. Why can't I change the battery (so I can have one charging while the other is being used and I never have to tether my iPhone to a power cord)?
3) Yeah, it's cool to have a touch screen interface, but every time I have tried to use an iPhone it's been practically impossible to type any text into it. Maybe some haptic feedback would work or else just even making the online keys a little bigger. A flip out real keyboard would be even nicer.

Until then I am sticking to my Razr. In August I will finally be able to upgrade it (whee!).

Flickr doesn't allow illustrations

Wow, who knew?

http://drawn.ca/2005/11/29/more-on-flickr-vs-illustration/

Pizdaus

Pizdaus.com is a site which keeps me coming back. It's just a random collection of interesting photographs that people post (little or no nudity) which somehow draws you in so you can just sit there clicking for ages. I don't know, there is just something hypnotic about it... I tend to go there when I get bored. Supposedly the photos are ranked, but I am not sure how the ranking system works. They get the balance right of new vs interesting (maybe they combine the number of up votes with a freshness rating based on the date)

What's a blog without pictures?

Mmmmm Rib Eye steak!

Yummy...

Blogging via email

Wow, I can post to my blog via email. How cool is that?

So I just heard some good news (in a geeky sort of way). It turns out IE6 is finally going to kick the bucket in about 10 days time!

http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B946202&x=15&y=14

And about time too. IE7 came out over a year ago and at first those Microsofties were only going to allow "valid" Windows users to upgrade. What happened next? No one bothered switching over to IE7.

In other news, I have just been taking it easy this weekend after being sick last week. My stomach has shrunk as well (it seems like I am struggling to finish portions that I would have mopped up in no time previously). I hope my stomach returns to normal before I go to Vegas next week otherwise the buffets will be a waste of money.