Wow! The past few days have been hectic.
– On Wednesday, I packed boxes for an office move. The office move is simple: one building to another. Why? Why not! The cube looks the same. The furniture is identical. But I have moved by commuting bike to the other end of the parking garange. It’s a hundred yards less of a commute each way.
– On Thursday, I sealed the last boxes and checked out.
– On Friday, movers tooks the boxes and computer equipment and loaded them on a moving van. The van drove around the corner and unloaded. What a concept! Somehow, I am missing the efficiency of the move. But mine is not to wonder why. Actually, there are good reasons. But they relate to economies of scale – not to the efficiency of moving any single individual. So I soldier on.
– On Saturday, I needed to replace the TV/DVD/VCR/universal_gizmo receiver at home. The previous incarnation died on Wednesday. So I trekked off toe Best Buy. I found a great unit with the minimal features I needed and a price point I could stomach. But the store was out of inventory. So I wrangled with the sales rep. He was too young to know what was going on. So my insinuations about “bait and switch” tactics were lost on him. And he didn’t have the “authority” to sell me the floor model at an “open item” discount. It didn’t seem worth the hassle. So I went across the street to Ultimate Electronics. They had the same unit in stock for $20 less. I could live with the 10% discount. Best Buy lost their chance at my money.
– Every time I purchase new audio gear, it forces the resolution of other problems. One of my surround sound speakers was causing me problems. Actually, it was a kitten that caused some crossed wires – but that’s a different story. So I chose to rewire the run. Nothing big – just time-consuming. More drilling, more wires hung from the floor joists,… But now the surround sound is working.
– Why do these things always happen when I have big projects looming? I spent the balance of the weekend capturing game films for my daughter’s basketball coach. I also worked on music selection, photo editing and movie capturing/editing for the post-season video. And the season isn’t even over!
– The first big game in the state tournament is Thursday. Dana thinks they can win this one. I think she’s right. After all, they just beat this opponent by 22 points last Thursday. If they can work a good game plan, then they can play a good inside-outside game and separate the defense. Dana is preparing and praying for a 30-point game. I hope she gets it.
On a totally different front, I saw a note about a new DVD. Apparently, “The Greatest American Hero” seasons 1 & 2 are now available. I loved this show. I am so psyched about it being available. I can’t wait to see Ralph, Pam and Bill save the world all over again.
Ciao for now.
-The Cycling Roo-
Month: February 2005
EarJams Finally Arrive
Well, it’s been two days since my EarJams arrived. There are two different feelings I have about the purchasing experience.
First, e-commerce can be great and it can really suck. I had a gift card from my mother-in-law. And I had ~$25 left on the card. So you would assume that the EarJams purchase would “fit” quite nicely on the card. Oh no, Kemo Sabe! That would be a mistaken assumption. I “ordered” (purchased) the EarJams online. The online transaction was approved with the simplicity of a key click. Then the vendor (Griffin Technology) tried to process the transaction a second time (on the next business day). Of course, the second transaction wouldn’t work because of insufficient funds. So after having an approved transaction (and funds withdrawn from my card), the purchase was declined.
As much as I want to whine at them, I need to give Griffin some credit. I called their customer support number. They recognized the problem (as it had happened with numerous other “gift card” purchasers) and they shipped the EarJams right away. Indeed, I had them the very next day!
So the first feeling associated with the EarJams is frustration with inadequate processes to hold/clear purchases on Griffin’s e-commerce platform. I am sure that they will get this cleared up. Also, you can always purchase EarJams through a reseller like Amazon.
My second feelings about the EarJams are – wow! I love the bass boost. I love the volume increase (as the sound is _closer_ to my eardrums). I also love the fact that the ear buds no longer slip out of my ears. This is an extremely handy thing – especially for someone who is active.
How do they sound? Pretty good. They are not the kind of thing you want if you are seeking crystal-clear audio reproduction. But if you can live with that, then they are worth the $14.99.
-CyclingRoo-
Podcasting
It must be the week for software upgrades beacuse here comes another one. Doppler 2.0 has finally been released. It must also be the week for podcasting to hit the mainstream press. Yesterday, USA Today had several articles on podcasting. For those who don’t follow podcasting (or podcasting on Windows), the Doppler announcement will be meaningless. So here’s a quick overview of podcasting and Doppler.
Podcasting is a means of distributing canned audio content across the Internet. This doesn’t sound like anything new. And on its surface, it really isn’t anything new. After all, you’ve been able to get live radio broadcasts from the web for years. You’ve also been able to download MP3 files for delayed listening. But podcasting is like Tivo for the web audio biz. A podcaster records audio content (e.g., vocal commentary, music, etc). This content is then posted on a web site for downloading by end users. The podcaster is responsible for creating a syndication (or “feed” of audio files). BTW, the means of syndication is the RSS (really simple syndication) protocol.
The client uses an RSS reader to assemble the “feeds” into a downloadable list of files. I use the Firefox Live Bookmarks facility for most RSS text feeds. But a typical RSS reader does not take care of the business of downloading the recorded audio broadcasts. That’s where Doppler comes into play. Doppler can read the RSS feeds. Doppler will then download the audio files for use either by WMP (Windows Media Player) or iTunes. I use both but prefer iTunes. Again, either will work. And you don’t need an iPod to listen to a podcast. You can download and listen to content w/o an iPod. But the iPod (or an iRiver, or any other MP3 player) can make your podcast listening a portable experience.
There are lots of podcast sources. I won’t even try to list them. But here are a couple of good sources to scan: Podcast Alley, and Podcast.Net. Personally, I listen to Adam Curry’s Daily Source Code and the The Living Word. But I am sure that you will find something to meet your needs.
-CyclingRoo-
Remote Desktop – Sights AND Sounds
Remote desktop support is nothing new. I’ve used remote desktop tools for PC support for a number of years. But the tools are becoming more readily available. If you are using Mac OS/X or Linux (or event Windows) then you should actively consider VNC. It is freely available for most platforms.
But my main system is a Windows XP Professional installation. So I’ve been running the Microsoft RDP system rather than VNC. Don’t get me wrong. I love VNC and its capabilities. But I’ve already paid for the Windows XP license. And since the client is freely available on all Windows XP systems, this became the easiest means to provide remote desktop capability to both myself and Cindy.
Setup is easy.
- Turn the service on. From the sytems Properties function, you will find a Remote tab. On that tab, you can select the checkbox that enables the service.
- Configure the Windows firewall on your system. If you have a different firewall, make sure you configure it to allow TCP port 3389. BTW, if you don’t have a firewall on your system, shame on you! Please see the teacher for a remedial lesson on basic PC security.
- Configure your broadband router to forward the relevant ports. This is a relatively simple task – depending upon your broadband router. I have a Linksys WRT54G (running HyperWRT 2.0). I simply added TCP port 3389 to my port forwarding list. Of course, I forward it to a fixed IP address. But the details to set that up are discussed elsewhere.
So why did I even spend the time to write this stuff down? After all, I have had this stuff going for over six months. Well, I was logged on at home and heard the alarm for incoming email. So I launched Thunderbird and checked my email at home. Then I realized something. I _heard_ the mail notice. I was very curious whether all sounds get passed through the RDP connection – by default. So I launched iTunes at home. I picked a song. I then hit “Play.” To my minor surprise, I started to hear the music wafting through the speakers on my laptop. I have no idea how many network links exist between “here” and “there.” But I am sure that there are quite a few.
Bottom Line: Networking is great. And it is becoming thoroughly transparent (i.e., commoditized). With no special gear, I am managing my home PC and getting sounds as well as sights. I have no intention of using this feature. After all, it’s not my bandwidth to burn. And I also have an iPod Shuffle. So I carry some of my music with me. But this is still quite cool!
-CyclingRoo-
OpenNMS 1.1.5 Is Available!
In addition to my day job, I help a friend of mine with his systems monitoring business. Without going into too many details, Tony is CEO of Midwest Internet Solutions. His corporation provides WiFi installation and management services to over four dozen hotels throughout the Midwest. He monitors and supports over three hundred access points thoughout that network.
At this point in time, all of the monitoring and support for his company is done by exploiting the OpenNMS platform. From this single platform, Midwest Internet Solution monitors service availability across an eight-state infrastructure. At the same time, SNMP performance data is collected from all of the routers and access points through the network. When outages are identified, trouble tickets are initiated. In some cases, this results in a truck roll. In others, it results in simple system restarts. But this entire infrastructure is “mission-critical” for his company.
Well, the wizards on the OpenNMS team have released their next revision (unstable) of the code base. This version is the second release candidate for the 1.2 version of the product. This version demonstrates significant improvements in performance – especially for the polling sub-system. Furthermore, even more of the code base has been moved towards the ultimate goal of a 100% Java code base.
So why is this announcment important? Well I am thrilled that IT service management is becoming even more commoditized. No longer must an organization rely exclusively upon complex (and expensive) service desk tools like OpenView or Tivoli. While these tools are indeed useful, not everyone needs these kinds of solutions. Indeed, many companies just need a good monitoring and dispatching tool.
And OpenNMS is a great example of how “open source” technology is becoming a disruptive technology for the service management disciplines within IT.
-CyclingRoo-
“To Stop Hillary, Draft Condi”
Dick Morris is a very interesting chap. He is a political maven with chameleon-like capabilities. He worked dutifully for President Bill Clinton. In the latter stages of Clinton’s Presidency, Mr. Morris had a very visible “falling out” with the then first family – especially Mrs. Clinton. While he was never warm to the possiblity of a Gore Presidency, he was still considered a pundit for the Democratic Party.
But during the last election, that all changed. He worked alongside Sean Hannity as a complicit “former Democrat” tacitly favoring (wink-wink, nod-nod) President Bush. And now he is “proposing” Condi for President. I guess his days as a Democratic pundit are complete.
Nevertheless, he raises some very interesting points. He notes the obvious potential that Ms. Rice carries as a candidate for President. He points out the transforming potential of such a candidacy. Will the Republicans consider such a tactic? Would Ms. Rice even be interested? Who knows.
But it is impressive to consider that the first Secretary of State (Thomas Jefferson) also became the President of the United States. And what an irony it would be to see Ms. Rice continue that Jeffersonian tradition. Thomas Jefferson labored to see his Declaration of Independence include freedom for all persons in the nation. Wouldn’t it be a fitting tribute to President Jefferson to see the last remaining vestiges of antiquated cultural prejudice swept aside?
I do not know enough about Ms. Rice (or her political positions on key issues) to state whether or not I would join such a draft movement. But to even consider it speaks to how far this nation has progressed. May Mr. Morris’ thoughts be a calling to the spirits of all Americans. There is nothing that can prevent an American from achieving historic and amazing things. Let’s pray that this simple message can be shared by each and every American.
-CyclingRoo-
"To Stop Hillary, Draft Condi"
Dick Morris is a very interesting chap. He is a political maven with chameleon-like capabilities. He worked dutifully for President Bill Clinton. In the latter stages of Clinton’s Presidency, Mr. Morris had a very visible “falling out” with the then first family – especially Mrs. Clinton. While he was never warm to the possiblity of a Gore Presidency, he was still considered a pundit for the Democratic Party.
But during the last election, that all changed. He worked alongside Sean Hannity as a complicit “former Democrat” tacitly favoring (wink-wink, nod-nod) President Bush. And now he is “proposing” Condi for President. I guess his days as a Democratic pundit are complete.
Nevertheless, he raises some very interesting points. He notes the obvious potential that Ms. Rice carries as a candidate for President. He points out the transforming potential of such a candidacy. Will the Republicans consider such a tactic? Would Ms. Rice even be interested? Who knows.
But it is impressive to consider that the first Secretary of State (Thomas Jefferson) also became the President of the United States. And what an irony it would be to see Ms. Rice continue that Jeffersonian tradition. Thomas Jefferson labored to see his Declaration of Independence include freedom for all persons in the nation. Wouldn’t it be a fitting tribute to President Jefferson to see the last remaining vestiges of antiquated cultural prejudice swept aside?
I do not know enough about Ms. Rice (or her political positions on key issues) to state whether or not I would join such a draft movement. But to even consider it speaks to how far this nation has progressed. May Mr. Morris’ thoughts be a calling to the spirits of all Americans. There is nothing that can prevent an American from achieving historic and amazing things. Let’s pray that this simple message can be shared by each and every American.
-CyclingRoo-
HyperWRT 2.0 released!
For those not following Avenger’s work, you may have missed this announcement yesterday. Here’s my summary: Avenger’s released 2.0 final. For you folks with the Linksys WRT56G/GS, there are new bits for you. For those who are clueless about what I am talking about, Robert Cringely had a great article discussing the importance of this device and Cisco/Linksys’ courage in releasing the source.
So why this firmware mod? You could certainly use the bits from Sveasoft – assuming you want to pay to access them. Without getting into too many knotholes, the Sveasoft Alchemy firmware is not yet available for public use. Yes, it’s based on GPL code. But it is not yet “released.” I respect their right to put a fence around their development efforts. Therefore, I recommend Avenger’s code. In this case, Avenger has added power boost to the basic Linksys firmware. Why do you need a power boost? You may not. But some folks do – including me. I get far better wireless coverage in my house now that I have signal output control on my wireless router. Thanks, Avenger!
This version is rock steady. I’ve been running it for almost 24 hours! Go grab it if you need it.
-CyclingRoo-
Songs That Matter
What a mess! KC is getting hit by another winter storm. This time, the snow is falling at the rate of 1″ per hour. At 1:30 P.M. CST, I decided it was time to head home. There wasn’t much snow on the ground yet (about .5″) but that’s enough for me and the Batmobile. What’s the Batmobile? Long story. As a kid, I was known as “the Bat” because I was as blind as a…. I don’t drive. But I do ride a bike. Therefore, the bike is the Batmobile. I ride it to/from the office.
Well, the ride home was yucky but manageable. If I had left any later, I would be stuck at the campus. But since I subscribe to the “discretion is the better part of valor” addage, I bugged out before it got too bad.
So I’m at home. I’ve got iTunes blowing out a party shuffle from the main collection. BTW, I agree with those folks who swear that “shuffle” isn’t that random. Otherwise, how would “shuffle mode” result in three Switchfoot songs within an hour. But whether true or not, I’m loving the tunes. And now to the point…
Rick asked me to create a mix of “Songs That Matter.” Great idea. But Rick refused to give any guidance on the task. So I’m assembling this one based upon songs that matter to me. I’ve limited myself to thirty-five songs or less. I’m trying to shorten the list. But this is hard. Here is the list thus far (in no particular order):
- (Don’t Fear) The Reaper, Blue Oyster Cult
- Airbag, Radiohead
- All I Wanna Do, Sheryl Crow
- Bouncing Around the Room, Phish
- Burning Down the House, Talking Heads
- Call Me, Blondie
- China Girl, David Bowie
- Crash Into Me, Dave Matthews Band
- Dog Eat Dog, Adam & The Ants
- Dust in the Wind, Kansas
- Hotel California, The Eagles
- I Want to Know What Love Is, Foreigner
- Jeremy, Pearl Jam
- Just a Girl, No Doubt
- Killer Queen, Queen
- Losing My Religion, R.E.M.
- Material Girl, Madonna
- Money, Pink Floyd
- Money for Nothing, Dire Straits
- Mr. Roboto, Styx
- Mysterious Ways, U2
- Nights in White Satin, The Moody Blues
- Piano Man, Billy Joel
- Purple Rain, Prince & the Revolution
- Reelin’ in the Years, Steely Dan
- Riders on the Storm, The Doors
- Roxanne, The Police
- Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
- Smooth, Santana
- Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin
- Sweet Talkin’ Woman, Electric Light Orchestra
- Take on Me, a-ha
- Tiny Dancer, Elton John
- White Wedding, Billy Idol
- You Oughta Know, Alanis Morissette
So this is the list, Rick. Take your shot at it – if you can.
-CyclingRoo-
News from the Blogosphere
Today is a waiting day. I still wait for the EarJams to be shipped. And I am waiting to get a call from a friend in Boulder. And I am waiting for the Kansas City Star to print the details from last night’s game. So I started wandering around checking out some science links.
Why amble about for science links? Well, part of my job is to identify and categorize distruptive technology trends that we can exploit. So I’ve started to check out some good science blogs. The first place I checked was The Science Blog. Man, is this site cool. I ran across an entry about solar cells being used as retinal implants. Well, CyclingRoo is legally blind. Indeed, I have retinal problems causing much of my troubles. So this entry really caught my attention. Apparently, the field of retinal implants is exploding. The subjects in this test are now able to see light (where none was visible before). Other subjects report that they can read the LED’s on alarm clocks. OK. This isn’t much for most of you. But it is amazing to me. Maybe sometime in my life, I will be able to see. But if not now, then in the eternal. One day, I will see clearly!
I also ran across another great site: The Scientist. While there is way too much to comment upon, I would direct your attention to the notes on stem cells from the spleen. I am not a doctor. Nor do I play one on T.V. But this is really interesting. Apparently, the spleen has been found to be a possible new source for stem cells that produce the Hox11 protein chain. OK. OK. I am as befuddled by this as the next person. But I am heartened that new sources of stem cells may exist beyond embryonic sources. If such stem cell sources can exist until adulthood, maybe we can stop cheapening life by equating it to a harvestable source of scientific collateral.
Finally, I stumbled across CNet’s discussion of Google Maps. The folks at Google really have it going on! I have been impressed by Yahoo! Maps. But this one really rocks. I love the fact that I can mouse around and move the map itself. Oh, the joy of simple pleasures. I can’t wait to see the integration with all the Google search content. This will be amazing. And if there is a disruptive trend to be identified, it is this kind of thing. All of this information will be free (unelss you hate seeing ad copy). Rand-McNally will be struggling against this. Even MapQuest will struggle since they don’t have the content to relate to the maps. Only Yahoo! may be able to keep up.
Whew. There is the fifteen minute roundup for today. Ciao, for now.
-CyclingRoo-
Oh, I forgot one of the most important things! Dana had another good night at basketball. She scored 17. Unfortunately, I don’t know her other stats as they weren’t in the paper. And since I wasn’t there, I couldn’t speak about assists, rebounds, and/or steals. But I know that they won the game. And this was Coach Millard’s 400th career win. Pretty darned good. So Ron has seen 400 wins. He’s celebrated the 10th anniversary of his state championship win. And he is celebrating his 30th year in coaching. Wow. I pray that this brings him some sunshine during an otherwise challenging year. Keep Ron and his wife in your prayers as she is being treated for cancer. May God have mercy on her body and her spirit!