Archives- May 2005

May 31

Sick With the Flu

The last few days have found me in bed...sick with the flu. It really sucks because just a few months ago I had a bad case of Bronchitis. Back at work today, but I have that strange, groggy feeling still. Maybe I can sneak out of here early and hit the sack!
May 27

FlyZip

Its almost embarrasing to admit, but I've nearly filled up my 2GB Memory. I
know, its crazy, but there you have it. I might delete some of my Family
Guy episodes, but until that happens I need to find a way to maximize my
remaining 40mb left.
I heard a reference to FlyZip before and it finally piqued my interest.
Think 'PowerRun' meets 'HandZipper'. I downloaded a trial today...
Well, as all these things it started out very small (I think it was like
80kb), then grew as I began to Zip items up to 1MB. But its really okay
because my free space has ballooned from 40% to 50% available. I'll try it
for a few days and make sure its entirely reliable and then report back.
I am a bit apprehensive though... I mean this is stuff on the SD card, so a
backup is not made of these apps... Hmm, did someone say BlueSync?...that
may be next

Story from 'The Onion'

This story is from one of my favorite satire sites, 'The Onion'. Tell me this doesn't get at least a chuckle out of ya!

Investigators Blame Stupidity In Area Death

May 25, 2005 | Issue 41•21
WHEATLEY, AR—Although reckless driving and minor driver impairment were cited as additional factors, police investigators ruled pure, unadulterated stupidity as the primary cause in the death of an unlicensed motorist involved in a single-car accident Sunday.

The scene of the idiotic accident.
"We're fairly positive the deceased was operating under the influence of being an unbelievable dumbass," forensic investigator Evan Lawrence told reporters at the scene, a stretch of road littered with SUV parts, beer cans, food containers, fishing equipment, and pornography. "I mean, we're not saying alcohol, fatigue, poor vehicle maintenance, and driver error didn't play their parts—but mainly, that driver was a goddamn dipshit."
The violent and inane mishap occurred at approximately 4 p.m., just north of town, where Highway 63 passes beneath the railroad bridge.
A 25-page accident report released to the press Tuesday contained such details as "leg hooked through steering wheel so driver could use both hands to light cigarette,""handgun case slid under brake pedal, preventing it from being adequately engaged," and "carotid artery lacerated by bottle-opener bolted to dashboard."
Deputy Craig Zemke of the Lee County Highway Patrol said nothing in his 13 years on the force prepared him for the moronic things he saw.
"As soon as we rolled up, I turned to my partner and said, 'Jake, I can feel it in my bones: This is gonna be a stupid one,'" Zemke said. "When you approach an accident scene and see an inflatable doll stuck in the still-smoldering branches of a tree littered with the remnants of illegal fireworks—well, you know you're in for an idiotic sight."
Zemke's partner Jake Mills explained that, although it is often difficult for investigators to ascertain what might have triggered an accident, the cause of Sunday's accident was "immediately and pathetically obvious."
"See, usually, the vehicle's sudden-braking skid marks don't start a mere six feet from the concrete pillar," Mills said. "Usually, the vehicle doesn't have a gas tank held to its frame by a bungee cord and two leather belts. And, in almost all cases, the driver isn't halfway through the windshield with a half-bottle of Everclear grain alcohol in one hand and an electric nose-hair trimmer in the other."
"The police cruiser hadn't even stopped rolling by the time I'd penciled in 'stupidity' under 'cause of death,'" Mills added. "After that, I spent a few hours taking measurements, snapping photos, and shaking my head at what a dumbass this guy was."
Although investigators can't exactly reconstruct Sunday's chain of events, it appears that the driver—drunk, barefoot, pants-less, and leaving a double shift at a nearby FD&C Yellow No. 5 food-coloring plant—saw a train approaching on the right and stupidly decided to accelerate and beat it to the intersection.
"I deemed the motorist bone-stick-stone stupid for several reasons," Lawrence said. "First, no motorist should ever attempt to outrun an oncoming train. Second, no motorist should ever place an ashtray containing two lit cigarettes on top of a car seat drenched in 190-proof Everclear, as the scorch marks on the deceased's crotch will attest. Finally, and this is the real mind-blower, the accident occurred at a spot where the train tracks pass over the highway on their own bridge. Apparently, the numbnuts panicked when he saw the train approaching, veered off just before entering the underpass, and sent his truck into the bridge abutment. So even though 'stupid' barely begins to cover it, let's decide that it's an adequate description of the cause of death and leave it at that."
The moron's name is being withheld out of respect for his stupid family, which is preparing lawsuits against the Arkansas Highway Department, the Union Pacific Railroad, and the David Sherman Corporation, which produces Everclear.
May 25

ZLauncher vs LauncherX

After a brief flirtation with LauncherX I have finally settled on
ZLauncher. Here are screens of both.

Why the switch?
So at first I was drawn to LauncherX because of its small file size. But I
quickly learned that the size grows pretty quickly and for no apparent
reason. A check with Filez showed that a file called 'Launcherx cached
icons' was the culprit. Even though I had removed all extraneous icons this
still occured. The file would sometimes grow to up to 1mb! So I would
delete it and then it would just rebuild itself and start growing again.
The other thing I wasn't so crazy about was the screen overlay. I chose
Rose as my color theme for my Treo. So on the corner of the LauncherX
screen you can still see where the color doesn't blend in. Look
specifically by the side icons to see what I mean. Not a huge issue, but I
felt that it restricted me from really going all out with the themes.
Now ZLauncher is not for everyone. It is a ram-hog for sure, but at least
you know what you see is what you get. The size remains steady, unless you
specifically add themes or backgrounds to it. I'm not generally one for
backgrounds and themes, but its certainly a cool feature that it allows you
to store them on the card while not in use.
So at the end of the day, its ZLauncher for me!



 

I've Made my Treo Perfect!

I see a lot of posting about power-users, etc and it has taken me a lot of time and effort to finally get my Treo to where I want it to be. Currently I have 40% free!

1. Upgraded to 1.23 and made a Custom ROM to include Agendus, Snappermail, Filez, Handzipper and Hi-Launcher.

2. Installed Launcher X, using the nav-button fix posted in another section of this forum.

3. Used LauncherX to move SmartList, SplashID, iSilo,SplashMoney and Healthfile (leaving a 'shortcut' in main memory) to allow them to sync to their desktop components.

4. Have the following apps installed in Main Memory:

-Vindigo (edit: now deleted)
-AvantGo (I still use this in case I don't have a chance to convert on iSilo)
-BackUpBuddy Pro-Card Export (any time I use an external card reader, my data seems to get corrupt when I put the card back into my Treo)
-Dataviz Tech (to move Doc to Go components to SD Card)
-Fonts4OS5 (with Times Roman 22 font)
-Directory Assistant
-Documents to Go
-KeyCaps 600
-Leonard Maltin Movie Guide
-Power-Up
-Profiles
-pTunes
-SplashPhoto
-TCPMP (the new freeware Movie Player)
-Uninstall Manager
-Verichat

5. I have the following apps on my 2GB SD card using PowerRun:

-3D Hockey
-Abidia Wireless
-Acid Solitaire
-Acid Spider
-Afrodita
-Atomica
-Ballistics
-BDicty
-Bebop
-Bejeweled 2
-BestBuy
-Big Two
-Billiards
-BlackJack
-Book Worm
-Bowling Deluxe
-BTOthello
-Checkers
-DHunter
-Emperor's Mahjong
-Eponyms
-Escape
-Euchre
-Exact II
-Fish Tycoon
-Flight Status
-Futile Feudal
-GTS Racing
-Hearts
-Hold em High
-Idea Pad
-InHand (Handango Catolog)
-Insaniquarium
-JT Wheel of Fortune
-Lemmings
-Lemondae Tycoon
-Little Palm Pet
-Love Game
-Ludo
-Mazera
-Memory
-MetrO
-Mini-Golf
-MMPlayer (I still keep it, even though I use TCPMP)
-Mars Needs Cows
-Mobile DB (for the 'On-the-Fly' db lookup function)
-Monopoly
-Monte Carlo
-NoviiAnimator (I tend to also use this for regular sketches/notes)
-Pac Dude 100
-Patience
-Plant Tycoon
-Poker Game
-Police
-Prison
-Pyramid
-Rats & Spears
-RB Tapper
-Rebus
-Rummy
-Scrabble
-Screenshot
-Sea War MP
-Seven Seas
-Siberian Strike
-SimCity
-Snowballer
-Socoban
-SolFree
-Space Trader
-Splash Blog
-StockBroker
-StoneAge
-Teal Auto
-Tennis Addict
-Tetri Attack
-Tetris
-TextTwist
-Tip Assist
-Tip-Top
-Tradewinds
-Travel Deluxe
-Triclops
-Trivia
-Tube
-Visit it
-Volley Balley
-Warfare Incorporated
-WHATWord
-Woman PLus
-Zap!2016
-Zeenster
(edit:All apps above listed at PalmGear)

6. I have the following installed directly to my SD Card using the /Launcher folder:

-3V Broomsticks
-Alchemy
-Nexus Dictionary
-Navigator Deluxe
-Snails

You 'might' be wondering why on earth I have so many games... its an illness, what can I say. I am proud to say that I have taken advantage of every single special, bonus points, freeware, etc out there!

I have tested this set-up for a while now, and I do not have any issues with random, or software-caused resets. I had to test each application for resets, which led me to remove QuickNews from the list, as well as a couple of less used others.

I see so many posts of people leaving the Treo family, and I just wanted to let everyone else know, it can work...it just takes effort, trial and error, and determination. Don't Give Up!!

Yea Treo 650!!!!!

Keeping Up With Technology

I still remember the first time I got into Tech...my first pc was a
throw-away from the doctor I was working for in college. The first night I
got that computer up and running, I never would have guessed it was the
beginning of a love affair that has spanned over ten years.
I used that computer to gain an introduction to eBay, where I purchased my
first laptop for the princely sum of $200....
Then, while shopping at K-Mart (of all places!) I came across a display
case that housed the Handspring Visor. And the rest, as they say, is
history. Fast forward past my Handsprings: Visor, Platinum, Treo 180 and
then the Treo 600.
Each grade I stepped up to featured something hugely and uniquely different
from the previous. In fact, getting the Treo 650 marks a crucial point for
me. Its the first time that I have upgraded to a system that is so similar.
But the payoffs are tremendous when you compare the two. Bluetooth was a
totally foreign concept to me before the upgrade... And the hi-res screen;
well, where to even begin with that! A lot of to-do has been made over
lack of wi-fi but my theory is...its hard to miss something you never had.
I've got unlimited data with Cingular and unless someone can show me
something amazing about Wi-Fi, I'll be okay thank you very much.
The most frustrating thing about the 650 is in memory issue. Before I used
the unofficial 1.23 ROM, my whole life revolved around juggling apps
between the card and main memory. Between the update, customizing my ROM to
include Agendus, Snappermail and using ZLauncher I have been able to keep
my free memory pretty steadily at about 40% which is no small feat with my
200+ apps!
So even though I feel on the cutting edge of technology right now, I know
that in a few years the Treo 650 will be scoffed at as a typewriter is
today!
May 24

Top Things I Would Love My Treo to be able to do

For all intents and purposes, I do love my Treo 650. And with my ROM now
customized to exactly how I want it, I am pretty committed to the
relationship.
Lately I've been exploring some of the finer points of tb wireless world
(RSS, Blogging, photo-blogging,etc.) So my first request would be a
internet-based solution for hotsyncing. Just on the off-chance that I do
not have access to my work or home PC, I would still like to be able to
access my information.

My second stems from an interest I've recently taken in the whole 'Wiki'
format. For those not familiar, this is a form of creating hyperlinks to
reference another document. It works great for memos, but what I would love
to be able to do is create a wiki that refers to a particular bookmark in a
third-party app. So, an example of such an application would be to be able
to create a calendar entry that states 'Service Car' and then have a
wiki-link that would bring up the page in Teal-Auto that gives details on
the car. Or, similarly, 'Doctor's Appt' with a link to Healthfile where I
have information on what questions I'd like to ask the doctor. I'm not sure
if the main problem with this is making compatible with the third party
apps... But that would be one killer app!
I guess those would be my main ones for now.
May 21

Got My Dress!

What a wonderful day! I finally got my wedding dress... and it was the very
first one I tried on. I came out of the dressing room and we all burst out
in tears!
The dress needs no alteration or adjustments, and is absolutely
breathtaking.
Whoppee!

May 20

Stalking Dino...

It's a good thing I'm engaged to this man, or else I'd be arrested for
stalking!
But who can help it? He's such a cutie-pie!

Second Try with Mobile Posts

My first attempt didn't work, but it may have been due to a very large pic
attachment.

Welcome to My Blog


So here I am again, with yet another blog as I attempt to reach blogging nirvana. I had set up a blog with SplashBlog, but... I guess its just a bit too picture intense for me to keep up with all the time.
You can check out my Splashblog here.

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