January 30
Ahh... What Could Have Been...
I have never been an avid watcher of "American Idol" but I was lucky enough
to have caught the segment that featured Ms Rhonetta Johnson. To me, the
most amazing thing about her rap sheet is that she apparently has never
been arrested for hooking. What? That is like the number 1 offense I could
see RhonJohn being arrested for!
Kelly Clarkson is to be praised, and not critisized, for keeping her
distance from American Idol!
to have caught the segment that featured Ms Rhonetta Johnson. To me, the
most amazing thing about her rap sheet is that she apparently has never
been arrested for hooking. What? That is like the number 1 offense I could
see RhonJohn being arrested for!
Kelly Clarkson is to be praised, and not critisized, for keeping her
distance from American Idol!
January 28
Windows Mobile
Got my Dell Axim X3 today and I must
say, Windows Mobile is not as bad as I thought it was. Also, the wi-fi
is exceptional. Here is a shot of my Today screen:
And here is the Programs list, the launcher in Windows Mobile:
I'm learning the
non-keyboard way of navigating, and so far its going well. Here is a
picture of the station with the whole family of pdas:
Enjoy your weekend, folks!
January 26
Agendus Tasks
After over a year of using Agendus I've just found out that it supports
"trees" within the task function. Pretty neat function. Now if only they
could incorporate it within notes we'd really be cooking with oil!
"trees" within the task function. Pretty neat function. Now if only they
could incorporate it within notes we'd really be cooking with oil!
My PDA Project
Let me start by saying that when I started this I had no idea it would
evolve quite the way it has. Here's a recap of where we are so far:
-Tapwave Zodiac: I decided to go for a Zod 2 after experiencing some button
malfunction with the current one I got. I should be getting that on Tuesday.
-To experience the Windows platform I got the Ipaq 3650 (dirt cheap!) on
Ebay. But the Ipaq 3650 only runs Windows CE (irreconcilably outdated) . So
I shelled out a few bucks for the sleeve and wifi card and I hope to resell
it for a tidy profit.
-Meanwhile, I found an Axim X3 (wifi enabled) on ebay running Windows
Mobile 2003. Excellent!
-The Blackberry 957 came yesterday. Once I download the software from the
BB website and hook it up to the PC we'll see what kind of power this
dinosaur has.
-As always, my Treo 650 remains rock solid!
evolve quite the way it has. Here's a recap of where we are so far:
-Tapwave Zodiac: I decided to go for a Zod 2 after experiencing some button
malfunction with the current one I got. I should be getting that on Tuesday.
-To experience the Windows platform I got the Ipaq 3650 (dirt cheap!) on
Ebay. But the Ipaq 3650 only runs Windows CE (irreconcilably outdated) . So
I shelled out a few bucks for the sleeve and wifi card and I hope to resell
it for a tidy profit.
-Meanwhile, I found an Axim X3 (wifi enabled) on ebay running Windows
Mobile 2003. Excellent!
-The Blackberry 957 came yesterday. Once I download the software from the
BB website and hook it up to the PC we'll see what kind of power this
dinosaur has.
-As always, my Treo 650 remains rock solid!
January 25
Central Control Station
Well, the past few days have found me engrossed in PDA land. And in true form, I've taken my hubby with me! Here is my new Central Control Station that he built for me, using wood panels purchased rather reasonably from Home Depot:He put holes in behind each unit so that the wires can be fed behind. In addition, he's made excellent styli holders for each pda so that they are easily accessible.
Below is an overview of what our home office now looks like. Our matching desks face each other and you can see his computer by the lamp:
I absolutely love how it all came out!!
Suddenly It All Makes Sense
I sometimes wondered why Paris Hilton chose the path of whorishness;
considering all the etiquette and composure lessons her father's wealth
could purchase. And then I stumbled upon this picture of her mother and I
finally understand.
To me, the only thing that could be more fitting for this family is if the
father bought a chain of cheap motels. And then they would finally have
come full circle (Whore-John-Cheap Motel- Madam-Sleazy Sex tape- and back
to Whore).
Its so much easier when you understand the evolution of these things. Glad
I could help.
considering all the etiquette and composure lessons her father's wealth
could purchase. And then I stumbled upon this picture of her mother and I
finally understand.
To me, the only thing that could be more fitting for this family is if the
father bought a chain of cheap motels. And then they would finally have
come full circle (Whore-John-Cheap Motel- Madam-Sleazy Sex tape- and back
to Whore).
Its so much easier when you understand the evolution of these things. Glad
I could help.
January 24
Still Here
When I've been able to stop laughing at the Kevin Federline video clip of
him jamming to PopoZao playing on MTV, I've been busy getting familiar with my new PDAs. So far I've gotten the ipaq 3650 and a malfunctioning Zodiac. I ordered a Zodiac 2 and am eagerly awaiting that, the Blackberry 956 and Palm III.
I'll be back soon!
him jamming to PopoZao playing on MTV, I've been busy getting familiar with my new PDAs. So far I've gotten the ipaq 3650 and a malfunctioning Zodiac. I ordered a Zodiac 2 and am eagerly awaiting that, the Blackberry 956 and Palm III.
I'll be back soon!
January 19
PDA Crazy!
What should have been a simple purchase has now turned me into some sort of palm-psycho! I've been so impatient with waiting for my Tapwave Zodiac that I was driven to buy a Blackberry, PalmIII and iPaq 3650.Okay, so maybe driven is the wrong word, but I really want to experience all the various OS's. I never even held a Blackberry RIM before so I am pretty excited to see what its all about. Mind you, I got it off ebay for $20 with a cradle so hopefully it will work well/long enough for me to get the idea. I'm curious to see if there are BB software out there that work on the RIM 957 and just how it stacks up altogether. I won't be able to check out any of the email or wireless capabilities as I still live and breathe by Treo, but it will be interesting to see the device in action.
The iPaq is a good opportunity for me to see the Windows Mobile OS and broaden my scope.
Palm-wise I'm not really sure what prompted me to get such a relic... I
guess I just wanted to see what the original palms looked like. I started
my Palm obsession with a Handspring Visor so I never actually got the feel for the older versions.
Ultimately I hope that having these devices and studying them will get me
motivated to actually begin to develop programs and/or accessories that are unique. I always secretly imagined myself knitting up some fantastic pda case that becomes all the rage. Then Vaja eventually buys my line to
incorporate into theirs....
Okay, time to wake up now! But that would be cool.
For now I intend to create a 'Control Base' type workstation which consists
of getting these devices running and ported. Again, desktop synchronization seems unlikely. I really want to avoid having this interfere with my Treo's sync.
January 18
Tapwave Zodiac
Yep... I did it! Last night I ordered my very own Tapwave Zodiac from an
eBay seller and have been eagerly awaiting shipping news.
Relax, its not in lieu of my beloved Treo 650! I just felt like I needed to
spread my Palm-loving (stop snickering!) among dual devices. Of course I
still love my Treo but I feel that the burden of my intense pda-ing is too
much for one device, no matter how top notch. I've noticed that I never go
anywhere without my Treo... I mean anywhere. The bathroom, the kitchen,
during meals... My Treo is never more than an arm's length away.
I really don't have any history on the Zodiac except that I love how it
looks and, as a primarily gaming device, it will cover a whole other area
of my life than my Treo (i.e. I technically should never need both).
In addition to the Zodiac I also ordered a case and a cradle. I cannot wait
to get everything!
One thing I have not settled on is how I will have my 2 devices complement
each other. I think that I will totally ignore the PIM function and maybe
just beam my contacts from my Treo. I think I may use something like Cradle
care to forward calls to my home number when I get home so that I can place
my Treo in the cradle and not really rely on it as heavily when at home. I
want to avoid the need to hotsync my Zodiac at all just to avoid any
conflict with my Treo. The other reason I want to avoid hotsync is that I
want to use the same UserName so that I can just move all my games off my
Treo (...well, most) and have my Zodiac all set up with my registered games.
Even though I'm not sure of the set up, you can be sure that I'll find a
way to make it amazing and stupendous with the network at home!
eBay seller and have been eagerly awaiting shipping news.
Relax, its not in lieu of my beloved Treo 650! I just felt like I needed to
spread my Palm-loving (stop snickering!) among dual devices. Of course I
still love my Treo but I feel that the burden of my intense pda-ing is too
much for one device, no matter how top notch. I've noticed that I never go
anywhere without my Treo... I mean anywhere. The bathroom, the kitchen,
during meals... My Treo is never more than an arm's length away.
I really don't have any history on the Zodiac except that I love how it
looks and, as a primarily gaming device, it will cover a whole other area
of my life than my Treo (i.e. I technically should never need both).
In addition to the Zodiac I also ordered a case and a cradle. I cannot wait
to get everything!
One thing I have not settled on is how I will have my 2 devices complement
each other. I think that I will totally ignore the PIM function and maybe
just beam my contacts from my Treo. I think I may use something like Cradle
care to forward calls to my home number when I get home so that I can place
my Treo in the cradle and not really rely on it as heavily when at home. I
want to avoid the need to hotsync my Zodiac at all just to avoid any
conflict with my Treo. The other reason I want to avoid hotsync is that I
want to use the same UserName so that I can just move all my games off my
Treo (...well, most) and have my Zodiac all set up with my registered games.
Even though I'm not sure of the set up, you can be sure that I'll find a
way to make it amazing and stupendous with the network at home!
Car-Treo Audio Hookup
So you finally get the best all-in-one device but your still stuck burning
cds to play in the car..What do you do?
Well, I decided that I wanted my Treo's playlists to truly be the playlists
I lived by. Using Pocket Tunes deluxe I found out how to sync my playlists onto my computer. Sure, I could then burn a cd or 2 for each list but it
just wasn't working out for me.
Over Christmas Dean got me an FM transmitter to connect my Treo to the car (gotta love a guy who shops right from my Christmas wish list!) but the sound was really awful and filled with static. So he decided that he would find a way to hard wire it into the car so that the audio would be direct and therefore much clearer.
Here is how the setup looks. Bear in mind that we have a Nissan Xterra which gives us 2 cigarette lighter outlets. This is important because it allowed me to purchase the cigarette lighter mounted pda holder instead of the suction cup variety. If your car has only one lighter, you may want to go with the suction cup or air vent mounts.
cds to play in the car..What do you do?
Well, I decided that I wanted my Treo's playlists to truly be the playlists
I lived by. Using Pocket Tunes deluxe I found out how to sync my playlists onto my computer. Sure, I could then burn a cd or 2 for each list but it
just wasn't working out for me.
Over Christmas Dean got me an FM transmitter to connect my Treo to the car (gotta love a guy who shops right from my Christmas wish list!) but the sound was really awful and filled with static. So he decided that he would find a way to hard wire it into the car so that the audio would be direct and therefore much clearer.
Here is how the setup looks. Bear in mind that we have a Nissan Xterra which gives us 2 cigarette lighter outlets. This is important because it allowed me to purchase the cigarette lighter mounted pda holder instead of the suction cup variety. If your car has only one lighter, you may want to go with the suction cup or air vent mounts.
January 17
Treo Trip Down Memory Lane
There is a really great article over at Treocentral where they take a look at the history and evolution of the Treo smartphone from Visor:
to 650. The timing is funny to me because only a
few weeks ago I found a catalog I had from several years ago with all
the different plug-in modules for the Visor. It reminded me of a time
when it was not possible to have all functions in one like we enjoy now
with the Treo 600, 650 and 700.
You needed to swap out your phone module for an MP3 player:
or, take a picture with a separate module:
Or, if you were really feeling hi-tech, you could use your Visor as a home phone with probably the cheesiest module ever:
And then came the Treo 180 and we thought it couldn't get much better than that!
Looking at past Visor/Treo catalogs is
like looking at an old yearbook. You cringe at some of the fads, you
laugh when you remember others and you wonder what the future will
bring.
January 14
Whitney's Midnight Run
Whitney....why?
January 12
Star & Al
Okay, I have repeatedly tried to ignore the stories about Al being gay, butI must now at least speculate... Various online rags are quoting that in
her book that's coming out she states that the first time Al held her
sexually it was 'frightening'. Based on this pic from Gallery of the Absurd
I wonder who was more scared.
I guess my main beef (tee-hee!) with Star Jones is that she is so
unneccessarily splashy and obnoxious. And its okay to marry a gay man, but don't invite us into your boudoir...its a place we'd all rather not be. (And that probably includes Al).
January 10
The (near)Perfect IM application
Over the last few weeks I've been trying to find the perfect solution for
instant messaging. Ideally, I had hoped to come up with some sort of always on presence which would enable anyone to reach me via IM. For anyone looking into this, be mindful that having an always on connection (for email, instant messaging) your battery depletes quickly!
Over at www.everythintreo.com you can read the Instant Messenger roundup that I wrote a few months back. During my trials of those programs-Verichat, Chatopus, IM+- I realized that none of them were right for me. I used Verichat about a year and a half ago and I never really loved it. I suffered from the periodic odd behaviour from my Treo and I felt that Verichat was a real memory hog.
I had seen the occasional mention of Mundu messenger but had never really thought too much of it. Lately I decided to give it a try. Bear in mind, I had already decided that I didn't want to take the battery drain of an always on connection. Mundu is the perfect choice for me.
Mundu gives you a nested tree of your buddies starting with the transport
they are on. Its an excellent way to be able to figure out who a particular
buddy is based on which network they are on. I also love the interface and the fact that its completely 5-way button compatible.
instant messaging. Ideally, I had hoped to come up with some sort of always on presence which would enable anyone to reach me via IM. For anyone looking into this, be mindful that having an always on connection (for email, instant messaging) your battery depletes quickly!
Over at www.everythintreo.com you can read the Instant Messenger roundup that I wrote a few months back. During my trials of those programs-Verichat, Chatopus, IM+- I realized that none of them were right for me. I used Verichat about a year and a half ago and I never really loved it. I suffered from the periodic odd behaviour from my Treo and I felt that Verichat was a real memory hog.
I had seen the occasional mention of Mundu messenger but had never really thought too much of it. Lately I decided to give it a try. Bear in mind, I had already decided that I didn't want to take the battery drain of an always on connection. Mundu is the perfect choice for me.
Mundu gives you a nested tree of your buddies starting with the transport
they are on. Its an excellent way to be able to figure out who a particular
buddy is based on which network they are on. I also love the interface and the fact that its completely 5-way button compatible.
January 09
Monday-itis
Some Mondays I feel slow and dragging and I feel like I need another day of
rest. Not so today! I feel full of pep and vigour and having a full
schedule isn't the least bit daunting to me.
I think we spend so much time being focused on Friday that we miss all the
potential of Monday. This could be the week that I win the lottery
(granted, actually playing the lottery might be useful in accomplishing
that!), or the week that I come up with a brilliant idea that will really
help me improve productivity at work! This year I plan to take a moment and
salute at least a couple of the 52 Mondays.
This weekend I watched an excellent movie called 'Bride and Prejudice'. Its
an Indian movie which is meant to be a spoof/salute to the genre of
traditional Indian films. I grew up in a culture that was closely
intertwined with the 'Bollywood' entertainment industry. One of the first
movies I remember watching was 'The Burning Train'.
I must admit that I feel a pang when I watch movies like 'Bride and
Prejudice' and 'Monsoon Wedding' which are conscious efforts on the part of
Indian filmmakers to bring their culture more into the mainstream. I wish
that African countries would do the same and wipe out some of the silly
stereotypes that are out there. When you imagine that some people's only
knowledge of any part of Africa is from watching 'The gods must be crazy'
it really gives you a pause.
A couple of years ago I began writing a story which I had high hopes of
parlaying into a screenplay. It was an intricate tale which covered the
emotions of discovering that by moving to another country, you begin to
lose a part of yourself. And eventually you can never really be happy in
any one place because of nostalgia for the other.
What started out as a simple assignment soon turned into a deep
self-analysis about the depression I was going though at the time. I came
to live in the US in 1994 and since then I visited my home twice.
Immediately following my first visit in 1996 my grandfather fell ill and
died within 6 weeks of my departure. During my second trip I reconnected
with an old flame and he had proposed to me. We had some details to work
out and I left after Christmas... He died from Typhoid in February.
It was at that point that I decided that my going home had become sort of a
curse on those I loved. And I never went back home since. I spent many
years being depressed and playing the 'What If' game. And its only today
that I realize that that game doesn't work because they're so many
variables that I can't even begin to imagine... what if my grandfather
hadn't died then but had come to visit me and died on the plane? What if I
never knew how much I was loved by another human being? What if my plane
had crashed and I had died?
So my goal for each day is to leave no stone unturned. To lie down each
night with not one regret about how I spent that day. And to leave no doubt
with my loved ones about how much they mean to me.
rest. Not so today! I feel full of pep and vigour and having a full
schedule isn't the least bit daunting to me.
I think we spend so much time being focused on Friday that we miss all the
potential of Monday. This could be the week that I win the lottery
(granted, actually playing the lottery might be useful in accomplishing
that!), or the week that I come up with a brilliant idea that will really
help me improve productivity at work! This year I plan to take a moment and
salute at least a couple of the 52 Mondays.
This weekend I watched an excellent movie called 'Bride and Prejudice'. Its
an Indian movie which is meant to be a spoof/salute to the genre of
traditional Indian films. I grew up in a culture that was closely
intertwined with the 'Bollywood' entertainment industry. One of the first
movies I remember watching was 'The Burning Train'.
I must admit that I feel a pang when I watch movies like 'Bride and
Prejudice' and 'Monsoon Wedding' which are conscious efforts on the part of
Indian filmmakers to bring their culture more into the mainstream. I wish
that African countries would do the same and wipe out some of the silly
stereotypes that are out there. When you imagine that some people's only
knowledge of any part of Africa is from watching 'The gods must be crazy'
it really gives you a pause.
A couple of years ago I began writing a story which I had high hopes of
parlaying into a screenplay. It was an intricate tale which covered the
emotions of discovering that by moving to another country, you begin to
lose a part of yourself. And eventually you can never really be happy in
any one place because of nostalgia for the other.
What started out as a simple assignment soon turned into a deep
self-analysis about the depression I was going though at the time. I came
to live in the US in 1994 and since then I visited my home twice.
Immediately following my first visit in 1996 my grandfather fell ill and
died within 6 weeks of my departure. During my second trip I reconnected
with an old flame and he had proposed to me. We had some details to work
out and I left after Christmas... He died from Typhoid in February.
It was at that point that I decided that my going home had become sort of a
curse on those I loved. And I never went back home since. I spent many
years being depressed and playing the 'What If' game. And its only today
that I realize that that game doesn't work because they're so many
variables that I can't even begin to imagine... what if my grandfather
hadn't died then but had come to visit me and died on the plane? What if I
never knew how much I was loved by another human being? What if my plane
had crashed and I had died?
So my goal for each day is to leave no stone unturned. To lie down each
night with not one regret about how I spent that day. And to leave no doubt
with my loved ones about how much they mean to me.
January 08
The Perfect Treo Headset
I've spent the last week going through a Treo
accessory 'binge' period... I've ordered a Speck skin case, a car mount,
a cradle, and Dean has even caught the fever ordering some wire that
will let him 'hardwire' my Treo to the car stereo.
But, hands down, this headset constructed by Treocentral's Gthing, is what I really need to be looking into:
To quote Napoleon Dynamite, "Sweet!"
January 05
Back on the 'A'
I must say, you never realize how much you miss the subway until you don't
have it for a while!
have it for a while!
January 02
Happy New Year!
Well, its certainly been a while. I apologize for the lack of posts lately
but between the transit strike which totally messed up my commute and my vacation between Christmas and New Year I really got behind.
One of the the things I promised myself I'd do while on vacation was to
watch 'Lost' on dvd. I've never seen the show before but I reckoned that
since I used to be an avid 'Survivor' watcher this might be right up my
alley. Well, I'm sad to admit that I have a new addiction on my hands. Lost is one of the most intriguing shows I have ever watched. I got through the entire 6 discs in 2 days which consisted of watching on Friday early afternoon until midnight and then restarting on Saturday at 6 in the
morning until 3 in the afternoon. It was that good. It really was just what
I needed to fill the void of 'Six Feet Under'.
I've made a decision that next year I will do most, if not all, of my
Christmas shopping online. That's it. Its so ridiculous trying to squeeze
into the stores to get a whole bunch of gifts that could just as easily be
delivered right to my door. I really think that its the best way to go.
This holiday season I took time to evaluate what I would like to accomplish in my life and how relevant 2005 was towards those goals. I must say that 2005 has certainly been the most exciting and change-laden year of my life. In 12 months I have:
-Gotten married
-Gotten a promotion
-Moved to a new home
-Quit Smoking
-Quit Drinking (not that there was a problem here, but drinking at clubs
always went hand-in-hand with smoking for me)
-Created and maintained my own blog (2 if you count my Splashblog)
-Gotten my first official paycheck for writing.
Not a bad year, if I do say so myself. So this year I aspire to save more
money towards our children's future, lose weight and generally be a better person. Not quite a resolution but more of a guide of where I want to be at the end of next year.
but between the transit strike which totally messed up my commute and my vacation between Christmas and New Year I really got behind.
One of the the things I promised myself I'd do while on vacation was to
watch 'Lost' on dvd. I've never seen the show before but I reckoned that
since I used to be an avid 'Survivor' watcher this might be right up my
alley. Well, I'm sad to admit that I have a new addiction on my hands. Lost is one of the most intriguing shows I have ever watched. I got through the entire 6 discs in 2 days which consisted of watching on Friday early afternoon until midnight and then restarting on Saturday at 6 in the
morning until 3 in the afternoon. It was that good. It really was just what
I needed to fill the void of 'Six Feet Under'.
I've made a decision that next year I will do most, if not all, of my
Christmas shopping online. That's it. Its so ridiculous trying to squeeze
into the stores to get a whole bunch of gifts that could just as easily be
delivered right to my door. I really think that its the best way to go.
This holiday season I took time to evaluate what I would like to accomplish in my life and how relevant 2005 was towards those goals. I must say that 2005 has certainly been the most exciting and change-laden year of my life. In 12 months I have:
-Gotten married
-Gotten a promotion
-Moved to a new home
-Quit Smoking
-Quit Drinking (not that there was a problem here, but drinking at clubs
always went hand-in-hand with smoking for me)
-Created and maintained my own blog (2 if you count my Splashblog)
-Gotten my first official paycheck for writing.
Not a bad year, if I do say so myself. So this year I aspire to save more
money towards our children's future, lose weight and generally be a better person. Not quite a resolution but more of a guide of where I want to be at the end of next year.
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