tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42430552063276898632012-02-16T06:32:15.506-08:00Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.comBlogger4941100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-56398459676824251742011-06-05T20:28:00.000-07:002011-06-05T22:47:04.408-07:00

I've been on the hunt for a while now for a better router for the house. What I've wanted was the perfect marriage of cost, customizability, utility and ease of use. The features I've needed:1. Basic NAT and Firewall with uPnP or NAT-PMP2. DHCP client on WAN port, DHCP server on inside network3. IPv64. Dynamic DNS5. Uplink bandwidth prioritization / QoSThe closest I have come up to now has been

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-80444507932953050562011-03-19T20:54:00.000-07:002011-03-19T21:00:42.521-07:00

We've got a season pass to Conan, and I can't help but complain about the surround mix. There's way too much in the surround channels. It sounds like more of the show is happening behind you than in front.It's particularly bad during the opening theme music. Andy's introductions are almost completely inaudible.Now, I'm really, really, sure our system is set up right. And no other shows sound bad

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-12989012942995343622011-03-18T18:33:00.000-07:002011-03-18T18:33:00.524-07:00

AT&T is a case study in how not to treat your customers.AT&T has made it abundantly clear that they don't care at all. The latest proof of this comes from this thread in AT&T's customer forums.To recap, a paying customer posts a complaint about their service, and an AT&T employee replies telling them to return their phone and go away.Mark my words, it's this kind of attitude that is going to be

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-24458820448681459542011-03-17T18:09:00.000-07:002011-03-17T12:22:49.630-07:00

Railroads hold an almost universal curiosity for most folks. Probably because of the fact that they're both familiar and somewhat mysterious. Most of us have been on a train of one sort or another, but almost no one knows how to work one. You might say that's the same for airplanes, yet there are half a million (or so) licensed pilots in the U.S. There aren't even 100,000 locomotive engineers.

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-26045407183502065662011-02-11T21:48:00.000-08:002011-02-11T21:57:50.632-08:00

I am not a big fan of Microsoft. But I had been hearing relatively good things about Windows 7. I don't have a lot of use for Windows myself, but I do have a need on occasion to support others, so I figured it would be a good idea to upgrade my Fusion VM from XP to Windows 7, if for no other reason than to get some experience and learn where all the knobs moved.So after checking the box very,

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-13668841860326037162011-02-06T12:44:00.000-08:002011-02-06T13:04:49.011-08:00

ZFS allows you to take snapshots of live filesystems, which is a great way to solve the 'oops, I deleted the wrong file' backup problem. 'zfs send' for snapshots allows you to effectively deal with the disaster recovery problem. Snapshots are smart in that they only make copies of new or modified files.Where this breaks down, unfortunately, is things like databases, where relatively large files

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-67953237334128146112011-01-22T21:14:00.001-08:002011-01-22T21:34:17.584-08:00

A few years ago (maybe it was in 2001. I don't remember), 2001: A Space Odyssey had a brief nationwide theatrical run. This was my first opportunity to see a movie that was made to be shown in a theater before I was born on a big screen, as it was intended. I had, of course, seen the film before, but always on Television, which until only recently meant NTSC video. Seeing it in the theater was a

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-67226159771238855542011-01-17T19:59:00.000-08:002011-01-17T20:09:25.703-08:00

Let's just call it what it is. The Cisco Ūmi is FaceTIme for your living room. As such, it's a pretty cool idea.Cisco wants you to pony up $600 and $25/mo for the privilege.Are they nucking futs?For the same amount of money you literally could buy a mac mini and a webcam and plug that in your TV. You could then download Apple's FaceTime software for free and chat with your similarly equipped

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-52048963388669595082011-01-11T23:18:00.000-08:002011-01-11T23:47:45.260-08:00

Welcome, Verizon.It'll be interesting to see how many people jump ship from AT&T and how many people trade in various other Verizon phones for iPhones.At the moment, AT&T and Verizon offer a Morton's Fork to the phone connoisseur: AT&T's network is fast, when it works properly, but has lots of holes, even around here (AT&T is notoriously bad in Palo Alto, for instance). Verizon's network may have

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-41799389651131747822011-01-07T18:28:00.000-08:002011-01-07T18:28:00.355-08:00

I am about to cross a generational rubicon.I am, sometime in the next week or two, going to call up AT&T and cancel our last remaining POTS line.This line was "under" our DSL connection, and I had it on the cheapest measured-rate service I could get, because at the time you couldn't get Naked DSL. And, at the time, we had DirecTV receivers that required a connection to a land-based phone line,

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-73303489322702605302011-01-07T18:15:00.000-08:002011-01-07T18:15:00.231-08:00

I've perused the Mac App Store. There are some nice apps in there, but I have to say that just based on the value to me being offered, almost every single paid app I've seen so far has been a minimum of double the price I'd be willing to pay for that app. I'd be happy to pay $10 for Daisy Disk, but not $20. Maybe $15 (more like $10) for Earthdesk, but not $25. The one exception is the Contact

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-62609758861382129362011-01-01T16:06:00.000-08:002011-01-01T19:47:29.046-08:00

I've been a devotee of IPv6 for years now. I bought, and continue to use, an AirPort Extreme because of it's support for 6to4 and tunneling. Long story short, I've discovered that when an iPhone with IOS 4.x is connected to a WiFi network that's got an IPv6 router serving a globally reachable prefix, it will, in fact, use it!Here's proof: The Dancing Kame on an iPhone.This page has logic on it to

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-42113589746768277622010-12-04T11:40:00.000-08:002010-12-04T15:36:06.936-08:00

For almost 20 years now, I've had static IP addressing at home. It makes me a bit of a throwback to when the Internet was young and September only had 30 days.I had a static address because I had a server, and servers generally need to have their addresses be well known and stable. Yes, there are dynamic DNS tricks you can use to make do, but they demand that you at least have a stable address

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-63358173772823917552010-11-23T08:10:00.000-08:002010-11-23T08:43:10.664-08:00

There's a big to-do this week with a big passenger backlash to the perceived excesses of airport passenger screenings. There are those with luddite attitudes towards the new backscatter X-ray scanners, but it's fairly easy to see how the machines themselves are safe. But facing the Hobson's choice of either a virtual strip-search or a pat-down not dissimilar to what happens when suspected

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-11199005573023351682010-11-15T21:54:00.001-08:002010-11-15T21:55:20.444-08:00

Every time I see her on The Soup, I can't help but think of Roland Freisler.

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-7031228532408754452010-11-15T19:07:00.000-08:002010-11-15T19:19:27.564-08:00

Scarlet was in the hospital a few weeks ago. Fortunately, she's all better, but we got some paperwork from our health insurance today. The long and short of it: Her one week hospital stay had a retail price of $87,000. But the "network" price was $18,000, and the patient responsibility (that is, what we have to pay) is $0.So the last of those numbers - the $0 - is fine with me. I can't complain.

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-50290482569574560962010-11-14T15:42:00.000-08:002010-11-14T15:46:36.643-08:00

I've been loving the NMA animated news "reenactments" that have been featured on The Soup and elsewhere, but googling around for it, I found perhaps the best one of all, centered around Jersey Shore inmate, Snooki:Best of all is the last few seconds of the video boldly predicting the coming end of her 15 minutes.

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-15246566625323879742010-11-14T15:38:00.000-08:002010-11-14T15:39:31.612-08:00

You just have to use the correct font.

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-66550217809465176602010-11-07T07:38:00.001-08:002010-11-07T08:12:24.722-08:00

In honor of the sentencing this week, I thought it long overdue to pontificate on the shooting of Oscar Grant.I think we can take at face value the supposition that Grant did nothing that evening that warranted the use of deadly force. But at the same time I think we also can take at face value Mehserle's assertions that he meant to use his Taser rather than his gun. After all, to believe

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-21616789969526665662010-10-27T18:45:00.000-07:002010-10-27T18:53:13.701-07:00

Remember when SkyLine used to be Independence Day?Or perhaps you remember when it was called War of the Worlds?Come on, Hollywood. Please.

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-29972985817962600832010-10-27T08:30:00.000-07:002010-10-27T08:47:27.547-07:00

I've decided to trade in my old MacBook Pro for an Air. I used to think that a big screen was what I wanted, but I've had a change of heart and now light weight is key, since I'm taking it with me on the train most mornings.For a little while I had appropriated Scarlet's (original model) Air, and it was nice, though that machine only had 2 GB of RAM and was a little sluggish. It also was a little

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-45605734480471727882010-10-25T23:53:00.000-07:002010-10-26T00:03:47.751-07:00

Scarlet wants a speakerphone for the van. I did some research and I found the exact right one. Which is unusual. It's the Kensington LiquidAUX Bluetooth car kit. It's the most promising product pitch I've had: It's a speakerphone that does A2DP and has an auxiliary output (instead of an FM transmitter - we went to great trouble to get an aux port for the stereo to avoid FM transmitters). It plugs

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-3968437097292525732010-10-14T21:58:00.000-07:002010-10-14T23:43:35.527-07:00

Well, this evening I decided we were done with POTS wiring in the house. Everywhere CAT-5 wire goes now, it goes to a T568B jack. The whole house is thusly set up for gigabit Ethernet.We still have a couple of uses for analog phone lines, but they don't need to go over the house wiring.I went to Fry's and bought a wall mount set of punchdown CAT5 8P8C jacks and just punched down the whole house

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-36510790978068660902010-10-10T13:08:00.000-07:002010-10-10T13:12:53.312-07:00

So, I know I'm not the only one having a terrible experience with AT&T's 3G Microcell. If you're one of the unfortunate folks who have one of these boat anchors and it's not working, I'd suggest you join me in my campaign to spread the word.Here's a YouTube video posted by a guy in the marketing department of Cisco, the folks who built the Microcell for AT&T.Here's a YouTube video posted by AT&T

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-65936126133817802122010-10-07T18:06:00.000-07:002010-10-07T18:06:00.237-07:00

It's been 6 months now. It's time to take it to the streets.

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-47033038214332858232010-09-19T10:20:00.000-07:002010-09-19T16:26:02.171-07:00

We've just recently switched to Comcast from DirecTV. Having done so, I've gotten my first taste of the NFL Red Zone channel. I'm not sure if it's an introductory thing (and will be turned off at some point), or if it's something that comes with the package I've signed up for. All I know is that on DirecTV, you had to pay for the NFL Sunday Ticket package ($300 a year) to get it.It's the ultimate

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-73833974920751995542010-09-08T18:36:00.001-07:002010-09-08T18:40:41.346-07:00

I heard back from VTA.Clipper will not be accepted on VTA before Spring of 2011.So in the meantime, everyone who is a monthly pass holder on Caltrain starting in October is going to get screwed out of their local fare credit on VTA.Ausgezeichtnet!Never mind that I have yet to ride on a VTA bus that doesn't have a clipper terminal at the front covered in a garbage bag.Really now. How much training

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-20012929816174801022010-09-07T18:20:00.000-07:002010-09-07T18:20:00.217-07:00

So we have a TiVo Premiere in the living room connected up to our TV. Since we have only the one DVR now, our TV in the bedroom would ostensibly be useless, so I moved the mac mini from the living room in there. We can use iTivo to watch shows on it.But that means that we now have no way of watching dvds in the living room, since the mini was the only DVD drive out there.Turns out, there's a good

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-89572276799409512182010-09-04T15:01:00.000-07:002010-09-04T15:05:08.624-07:00

We had a yard sale this afternoon, and a fellow came up and bought a pile of DSL equipment. He asked us if we could break a $100. We said 'sure' and I went inside (we keep most of the money inside) to make change.I came back out with 5 $20s and we did the transaction, him taking the modems and his change.My wife Scarlet, said just after he left, "Check that bill." She just had a feeling.Sure

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-32900447140385727562010-09-02T20:46:00.000-07:002010-09-02T21:04:52.331-07:00

I cancelled our DirecTV service this evening after being a customer for more than 15 years.As is always the case, my cancellation was handled by the "save" department. This is the bunch of phone reps whose job it is to do whatever it takes to prevent you from canceling your service. Every subscription service oriented company has them. Some are more pernicious than others. It should be no

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-39475437517685824312010-09-02T18:53:00.000-07:002010-09-02T18:53:00.102-07:00

Oh, Steve, you could have really revolutionized the living room if you'd just have tried a little bit harder.Where is the iTunes app store for the Apple TV?Yes, fine, you added Netflix streaming. But what about Pandora? What about XM/Sirius? What about Hulu? What about all of the other streaming media sources on the Internet that want to get onto the TV?Maybe that's what AirPlay will wind up

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-85576034397004098132010-09-02T18:45:00.000-07:002010-09-02T18:45:00.062-07:00

DirecTV is fired.The TiVo Premiere arrived Tuesday night and Comcast came yesterday.We'd been using DirecTV for 15+ years, so when we moved into our house we never hooked up the cable. A month or so later comcast physically disconnected our cable and left it dangling in the wind. So when we called them up for new service, I assumed they might need to cut off the last few inches of that cable, put

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-22235153080020724422010-08-30T08:03:00.000-07:002010-08-30T08:15:28.150-07:00

Saw a guy getting ready to board the train this morning. His bike had a sticker on it that said "People powered - no oil (wars) required."Uh huh.What do you think they use to fill the tank of that locomotive at the front of the train you're about to board? Last I heard, CalTrain hasn't switched to biodiesel.And even if he were so principled that he decided he would bike all the way to where he

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-10761115755345789582010-08-29T19:40:00.001-07:002010-08-31T12:05:51.382-07:00

For the third time in a week, an electronic gizmo in our house has failed in the same way: its low-bid Chinese wall-wart power supply has failed.A power supply simply needs to take household power and turn it (usually) into either 12 volts or 5 volts DC with somewhere between 500 and, oh, say, 2000 mA of current.This is a problem that has been solved for well over 50 years now. It's not

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-40419926964242253092010-08-26T18:27:00.000-07:002010-08-26T18:27:00.465-07:00

Using PKCS11 with JCE means that you can use HSMs to house your private keys, which protects them from theft or misappropriation. And that's a very good thing.With JCE, you use instances of subclasses of Key to perform cryptographic operations. Keys can be PublicKey, PrivateKey or SecretKey objects. SecretKey objects represent keys to use with a symmetric algorithm, like AES. PublicKey and

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-45746367848053205822010-08-26T08:37:00.000-07:002010-08-26T08:42:40.117-07:00

Folks, really now.If you're in a line for a ticket machine, and there are people behind you, you should take the opportunity you have while waiting to go digging through the Bag of Holding you call a purse to pull out your credit card and have it handy for when you get to the front of the line.I mean, it can't be a surprise that you're going to use it. Yes, I can see that if you're unfamiliar

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-85742846494648805642010-08-25T08:29:00.000-07:002010-08-25T08:39:55.825-07:00

While I was waiting for the train this morning, I observed a situation which could easily have resulted in someone being killed.The Northbound #231 train was approaching the Santa Clara station. Because of its design, passengers for Northbound trains must cross the Southbound track in order to board the train. To mitigate this, Caltrain has a "hold-out" rule that forbids more than one train from

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-41046230799686781572010-08-24T18:32:00.000-07:002010-08-24T18:32:00.626-07:00

Environmentalists are often amusing in the contradictory positions they're willing to take. The latest example is the ban on cruise ships dumping grey water within 3 miles of shore.At first, that sounds like something that you'd sort of expect to be a bad thing. But then how do you reconcile that with cities being incentivised to use grey water for irrigating parks and other public places? If

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-65801079504407226992010-08-24T18:30:00.000-07:002010-09-08T18:44:09.335-07:00

We're quickly running up against a situation here.Caltrain has said that we should switch from paper monthly passes to Clipper monthly passes starting in October.A 2+ zone CalTrain monthly pass gives you local fare credit on VTA busses and light rail. I use this every once in a while to take the #60 bus home from the Santa Clara CalTrain station.VTA does not yet take Clipper. VTA has yet to issue

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-24795305066199173252010-08-23T18:18:00.000-07:002010-08-23T18:35:36.960-07:00

The latest rumors about the microcell are that AT&T and Cisco are working on what sounds like a fairly major overhaul. The rumor mill is talking about a hardware upgrade, which would mean AT&T would swap out all of the units deployed so far.That the problems that we are having with the microcell couldn't be fixed with a simple software update would be astonishing to me. From what I've read from

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-67316822347402080532010-08-17T23:18:00.000-07:002010-08-17T23:43:53.990-07:00

In all of the fussing I've been doing over our Internet connection and the microcell lately, I came to discover that the latency on our connection had suddenly become about 40 ms, where it used to be much, much lower than that.This happened after I had swapped out the Netopia modem/router combo for a separate Speedstream 5100 modem and a Linksys E1000 router.I just couldn't believe that a

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-20588001789253521022010-08-01T13:28:00.001-07:002010-08-01T13:44:52.371-07:00

Why Apple didn't design this in as an option I'll never understand.As I explained in my last post, using a Mac Mini as an HTPC hasn't been quite ideal until now. The Magic Trackpad plus the Wireless Keyboard make ideal bedfellows for the mini in the living room... If only they were joined at the hip.....Achieving this isn't too difficult. The most desirable factor for this is that the two should

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-11644682896747654252010-07-30T17:57:00.000-07:002010-07-30T17:57:00.518-07:00

The Magic Trackpad is the product I've been waiting for Apple to release since the first Mac Mini came out lo those many moons ago.I bought a mini almost immediately after they came out to use as an HTPC, and it's served that role very well indeed. The only drawback is that we've had to use a wireless mouse to use the thing. That's less than a couch-friendly solution. We have a table between our

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-69965153035141929602010-07-23T22:34:00.000-07:002010-07-23T22:40:21.269-07:00

It turns out that, thanks to the 3G Microcell support forum, we might have discovered an explanation for the problems we've been having with the microcell.If, while the phone is connected up to the microcell, you have the cellular data switched on, that can cause the audio of the call to get garbled.To test this out, I called my parents' house several times and had them recite poetry. Those calls

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-58649105549114494952010-07-16T08:36:00.000-07:002010-07-16T08:59:18.063-07:00

We've had the 3G Microcell since they became available in April, and since then we've suffered three particular symptoms that have made using the phone aggravating: 1. There's an extra third to half second of latency. 2. About every fifth call or so the calling party will, at some point, vein to sound like they're speaking in tongues. This will clear up after a few seconds, or the call will drop,

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-63753718381721724722010-07-08T16:13:00.000-07:002010-07-08T17:03:38.267-07:00

People moan about electric cars having poor range and long recharge times. Those are, basically, the two issues stopping every driver in America from having an electric car right now. Take those two issues off the table, and electric cars are superior in every way. Namely, a far superior torque curve which allows them to have a much simpler design, resulting in less weight. They're not only quiet

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-88264483257934345922010-06-28T18:30:00.000-07:002010-06-28T18:30:00.407-07:00

I had an occasion this morning before work to visit the San Mateo County (Southern) traffic court administration building.This is where you go if you get a ticket in San Mateo county to pay the bail, turn in paperwork, what not. This is not the courthouse. This is the place where there's a velvet-rope line leading to a bunch of bank-teller-like windows with pasty faced bureaucrats that work

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-82580525466002772742010-06-25T15:24:00.001-07:002010-06-25T15:25:59.836-07:00

I was at the Apple store today and happened to pick up an iPad that was sitting there. When I woke it up, this is the image that greeted me:I thought I was the only one that trolled at retail stores... :)

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-14627532583003314602010-06-25T12:22:00.000-07:002010-06-25T12:38:14.461-07:00

So my nephew and I waited in line at the Valley Fair Apple store yesterday and got the new Jesus Phone. For the most part, it has been reviewed to death all over the web and I don't have a lot to add to what has already been written. Except for one thing. FaceTime is the new video chat feature, and it works every bit as well as advertised. As was noted, the feature has been limited to WiFi only

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-70924944668101587162010-06-16T19:13:00.001-07:002010-06-16T19:35:04.169-07:00

I've never been to Saudi Arabia, but if I ever go, there's one thing in particular that would be interesting to see on my way in and out.Saudi Arabia, in particular, is the country where Mecca is located. Mecca is the site of a shrine that is the center of the universe for the Muslim faith. Muslims are instructed, once in their lifetime, to go on the Hajj, which is a pilgrimage to Mecca. There is

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-69403707359128372842010-06-15T09:01:00.000-07:002010-06-15T09:30:52.134-07:00

Hey Steve, how's this for a "Think Different" idea:Next time you set a pre-order date for something everybody in the goddamn world is going to want, you set it up so that for the first 24 hours the website just logs all of the order details and then processes them offline?P.s. Isn't it just a little embarrassing when https://buyiphone.apple.com/WebObjects/IPACustomer.woa/wa/error (which is the

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-80224167036544380972010-06-09T19:18:00.000-07:002010-06-09T19:28:01.476-07:00

Mythbusters just aired an episode that included the myth that a sneeze goes 100 mi/hr and can travel 30 feet. The experimental results: just under 40 mi/hr and a maximum of 17 feet. They called it "busted."So yes, at a literal level, they got somewhere around 50% of what the myth says, and 50% ain't 100%, so yes. But I think the literal numbers as stated in the myth are much less important than

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-7401507473941178902010-06-07T17:45:00.000-07:002010-06-07T17:45:00.054-07:00

The story line in 2001: A Space Odyssey contains a moment where mankind discovers a large magnetic anomaly on the moon. This anomaly is centered on a large object that had been deliberately buried millions of years in the past. When the sun strikes the monolith, for the first time in ages, it suddenly transmits an intense radio signal. The monolith was a solar powered alarm, designed to notify

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-19252906476701452442010-06-05T10:49:00.000-07:002010-06-05T11:10:15.303-07:00

It's been a while now, and I have to admit that the Microcell has not gone as well as I would like.You'll recall that the idea was that we could get rid of Vonage by going with the unlimited Microcell calling. By doing that, we could change the $25 we spend on the Vonage line into the $20 for the Microcell plan.It turns out, that the potential savings is even better - we've already been able to

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-27827420168389538242010-05-26T17:23:00.000-07:002010-05-26T14:32:56.233-07:00

What's the difference between a recruiter and a telemarketer? Apparently nothing.About once a week I get a call from a recruiter (at my desk) asking if we're hiring. They know I am a software engineer, which rather implies that I'm not a hiring manager, and yet it's me they call. It's fairly obvious that they're doing it because they want to try and end-run around the standard procedure. Because

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-43434340224711619372010-05-26T17:21:00.001-07:002010-05-26T17:22:45.000-07:00

This is a speed test through the MiFi I did while waiting for the train home at Redwood City:Tee hee.

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-1127899546941076812010-05-21T20:42:00.000-07:002010-05-21T21:06:13.026-07:00

For about 4 months now, we've been enjoying the multi-room viewing beta with our DirecTV DVRs. This morning, it was summarily turned off. I went to the DirecTV website and discovered that they now want to charge $3/mo for it.Offense number one: nickel-and-diming your customers.Fine. I clicked on the button to activate it. The response? "Sorry, your account is ineligible. Please call yadda yadda."

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-50958856782225118692010-05-21T08:47:00.000-07:002010-05-21T09:05:47.373-07:00

This is sort of interesting. I got a 3G data modem back at the end of last year. These devices have phone numbers, though they can't make or receive traditional voice calls. They can, however, send and receive SMS messages. I don't have any use for this, so I've ignored it, but last month a text message from the Philippines, of all places, showed up. I called up AT&T and they took it off the bill

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-55219210646960399042010-05-20T08:45:00.000-07:002010-05-20T09:04:07.562-07:00

The big difference between an iPhone and the MiFi - or any other AT&T data device, for that matter - is a protocol called HSUPA. In a nutshell, HSUPA means fast uplink bandwidth. It's counterpart is HSDPA, which gives fast downloads. The iPhone has HSDPA, but lacks HSUPA. If I perform a speed test with the iPhone over 3G, then connect the iPhone up to the MiFi and repeat the exact same test, the

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-89709279553246320662010-05-15T21:09:00.000-07:002010-05-16T09:11:19.838-07:00

I had to go pick up my nephew at the MacArthur BART station today. I was in Oakland, but I didn't know exactly how to get there. So I asked the TomTom iPhone app to get me there. Now, the MacArthur BART station is located in the middle of highway 24, between the Northbound and Southbound lanes just north of I-580. That freeway is elevated, so access to the station is from ground level, underneath

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-16070092230676406572010-05-14T18:38:00.000-07:002010-05-14T18:38:00.772-07:00

I'll pick a number (an integer, to be specific) between 0 and 255. You can ask me 8 yes-or-no questions, and then you should be able to tell me which number I picked.Solution below (highlight with your mouse):First question: "Is the number greater than or equal to 128?"Second question: "Is the number greater than or equal to either 192 (if question 1's answer was "yes") or 64 (if question 1's

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-68322382224630147342010-05-07T18:16:00.000-07:002010-05-07T18:16:00.133-07:00

1990:1 GB SCSI hard disk$10005.25" full-height form factor2+ lbs2010:4 GB microSD card$1215x11x1 mmabout 1 gram

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-4799705032665301792010-05-06T08:50:00.000-07:002010-05-06T10:52:03.418-07:00

I'm not a big fan of the iPad, but even I can see that whoever designed this device absolutely missed the point.

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-76528212923687458852010-05-02T23:50:00.000-07:002010-05-03T00:44:50.263-07:00

When I bought my car, I had them install the iPod integration (it was a dealer-installed option). Well, it turns out that the stupid thing emulates a CD changer, so you get no track names, you only get forward-back control, it can only deal with 6 playlists... It was substandard in every way imaginable.Meanwhile, I was pretty happy with XM anyway. But XM is really expensive, and it's been

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-60991373726851058292010-05-02T03:18:00.000-07:002010-05-02T03:22:23.443-07:00

I've created my first Dashboard Widget. It's a MiFi signal strength / battery state widget. Whenever the mac is connected to the MiFi, this widget will display the signal strength and battery state. It's marginally easier than opening up a web browser.I'm not a graphics wizard. All of the graphics in here I stole off the net using Google. Mea culpa.You can download the widget here. Just unzip it

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-54251909273967173012010-05-01T15:37:00.000-07:002010-05-01T23:50:19.514-07:00

While the old portable hotspot solution I had was nice, it wasn't very portable. The idea of taking that rig with me on the train just wasn't going to be an option. So when I heard that Novatel Wireless had an AT&T friendly HSUPA network quad-band MiFi available, I decided to look into it.AT&T doesn't offer the 2372. The only reason I can think of why they wouldn't is that perhaps Verizon

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-206595132422290962010-04-18T19:42:00.000-07:002010-05-02T23:50:19.394-07:00

I like the FTP Steps Tournaments. I like to play Super Turbos, which are incredibly high variance. But the steps tournaments generally pay something to at least 2/3 of the field. So I bought into a total of 8 of the Step 2 tournaments ($8.30 + $0.40) over the course of today, and turned one of those buy-ins into a Step 6 ticket, which I've used to buy in to the FTOPS main eventAnother one

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-14181480385607085012010-04-18T01:01:00.000-07:002010-04-18T01:38:55.269-07:00

I have an AT&T Quicksilver card and the cheap, limited data plan for it. I don't use it much, but since it is a 3G device, I thought I'd play with it and the microcell, just to see how it compares to the iPhone data throughput.To recap, the microcell, unlike the Verizon one, supports both data and voice. If you do a speed test with an iPhone (via the speedtest.net app) through the microcell (this

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-61464836300719130012010-04-11T10:47:00.000-07:002010-04-11T10:51:52.948-07:00

And, sure enough, if you put a Bay Area zip code in, the list of AT&T stores carrying the microcell is now at least twice as long as it was before, and includes stores in Fremont, Santa Clara, San Francisco... basically all over the bay area.It's now somewhat annoying that if you put in 95050, you get listings in Hanford, Sacramento and the like when there are a half a dozen stores within a 20

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-79598157511296958572010-04-08T22:32:00.000-07:002010-04-09T20:17:21.770-07:00

I've blogged before about my attempts to get a PoE solution set up for the Microcell. The idea is that all of the network infrastructure in the garage is on a UPS, so it would be good to have the Microcell get its power that way as well. I tried making my own PoE breakout cable. It gave the appearance of working, but when the Microcell got to the point where it normally would start working, it

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-37038119001818558722010-04-06T07:00:00.000-07:002010-04-06T11:13:34.079-07:00

4 months later, and the 3G Microcell is back.Nothing really changed between then and now, except that now the activation web site flow doesn't reject our home address.As I noted yesterday, punching in a Bay Area zip code gives you a list of AT&T stores in the Central Valley from Sacramento to Fresno. The rep in the store in Tracy said that they'd be available in the Bay Area for real on

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-39446803943803969672010-04-05T08:37:00.000-07:002010-04-05T16:19:42.577-07:00

The microcells are now available for purchase in the Central Valley. Tracy appears to be the closest store.Gentlemen, start your engines!

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-31037563364607202662010-04-04T23:22:00.000-07:002010-04-04T23:37:14.857-07:00

Scarlet bought us a 10' x 10' gazebo for the patio. It replaced our patio umbrella, and is nicer in that it's bigger, anchored down (and so, permanent), and has mosquito netting that can be zipped shut, if desired.As for that "permanent" part of the equation, the disclaimers on the packaging actually don't imply that at all. They warn against leaving it up during extreme weather, and it comes

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-25073879556472317812010-03-26T18:54:00.000-07:002010-03-26T19:10:27.678-07:00

We got our Netflix WatchNow disk for Wii today in the mail.Surprisingly enough, it was in the form of an actual disk. I suspect that Netflix would have preferred to make the app available for downloading as WiiWare. But my guess is that Nintendo would have insisted on charging too much for the privilege. So a disk it is. And sure enough, you pop the disk in and select it from the "Disk channel"

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-83046067634127359972010-03-21T16:48:00.000-07:002010-03-21T17:18:34.283-07:00

One situation we have run across at work is the need to be able to, at configuration, time, choose between two alternate ways to construct an object, depending on the runtime configuration. In a lot of cases, this sort of thing winds up being a datasource configured within the container, meaning that you can use JNDI to your advantage, but this case wasn't really amenable to that.So once you've

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-49765188424658249022010-03-08T23:24:00.000-08:002010-03-08T23:47:24.972-08:00

At work we have a need to integrate JCE with network crypto boxes. Turns out, with Spring, it's almost completely trivial.If you're going to be using either a smart card or a network crypto provider, what you're likely to wind up with is a PKCS11 module for your platform. Sun provides for JCE a PKCS11 JCE Provider shim.First, there is a very handy Spring idiom for adding providers to JCE at

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-10719570367299463512010-03-01T23:15:00.000-08:002010-03-01T23:26:29.731-08:00

ATK has done it again. I modified the recipe a bit. It makes a bigger batch, but is just as tasty.Rice Pudding1½ cups medium grain rice3 cups boiling water1 tsp salt1 cup sugar3 cups cream4 cups skim milkor3½ cups half-and-half3½ cups whole milkflavorings of your choicecombine rice, salt and water in a larger pot than you think you need. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover for 15

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-87705171447761913802010-02-28T14:45:00.000-08:002010-02-28T17:42:20.089-08:00

I just saw an ad on TV for the Nissan LEAF, which apparently is an EV car for 2010. It has a 100 mile range, which is respectable. I think my next car is very likely to be an electric car. And a 100 mile range is probably fine, but it means we'll never take the car on a long trip.The solution, however, is the concept of the "pusher trailer." These typically are made from old Volkwagen Rabbits.

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-28342414249378865002010-02-26T17:48:00.000-08:002010-02-26T17:48:00.632-08:00

News comes to us via the MurkySnooz that the state assembly has declared next week a no cussing week.Fuck that bullshit!

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-636399790698996602010-02-25T18:49:00.000-08:002010-02-25T18:49:00.363-08:00

Here's a clue for Scotty Lago:Dude! If it was a gold medal, then maybe I'd say you could dangle it from your johnson for the chicks. But you do it with the bronze and you're just going to get bitch-slapped by the guys with silver and gold.

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-87932744610346694032010-02-24T21:38:00.000-08:002010-02-24T21:40:53.306-08:00

Next time you're at the grocery store, and you see someone with WIC checks...Move immediately to a new line. Doesn't matter if you're next. You'll still get out of the store faster by starting over at the end of another line.Just sayin'.

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-79028952929949806202010-02-22T19:35:00.000-08:002010-02-22T19:41:08.595-08:00

If you ask google how you import a private key into a Java keystore file, the answers you get back all have source code for opening a DER file, reading it in and writing a keystore file programatically.That works, but I've discovered a much, much easier way.The -storetype argument to keytool allows you to translate key material. In fact, jarsigner can take the argument -storetype pkcs12, meaning

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-27855513882130203322010-02-21T10:27:00.000-08:002010-02-21T10:41:44.849-08:00

When Sir Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Mt. Everest, he closed the books on the record for the highest altitude a mountain climber could achieve. The only thing anyone could ever do from then on was tie.And thus it is with me today. I have climbed the mountain.There is no worse beat possible in Hold'Em. You cannot be in a worse situation than having exactly two cards in the deck that save

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-71172513381885169712010-02-17T18:25:00.000-08:002010-02-17T18:25:00.093-08:00

Saw this ad on the side of a Samtrans bus today:Now, I can't read Hindi, but I can't possibly imagine what this text might say that would be a reasonable attempt to market beef to Hindus.Either that, or McDonald's is implying that there is no beef on their dollar menu (never mind there is a prominent picture of a double-cheeseburger in the ad). This is, in fact, the case in India - the McDonalds'

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-63137168667281995792010-02-16T18:02:00.000-08:002010-02-16T18:02:00.348-08:00

It's not every day that you set out to upgrade the firmware of a 10+ year old device.One of the oldest pieces of gear still operational at our house is the fax modem out in the garage. It waits patiently for the phone to ring and receives faxes. Most of them are for Scarlet. The few that aren't are junk. But every once in a while sending an image of a signature or form or some such is necessary,

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-53039951396543837252010-02-14T15:20:00.000-08:002010-02-14T16:00:56.775-08:00

My favorite two cooking shows are America's Test Kitchen and Good Eats. I love them both because they really take a proper scientifically educational tack. What I mean by that is that they do more than tell you how to do something, but they show you why you should take their advice. They both do this by taking a dish we all know, and may not be entirely fond of, and prepare it, all the while

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-56274573789551529912010-02-14T12:21:00.000-08:002010-05-04T20:25:47.171-07:00

I went through the setup process for the MBR624GU taking screenshots as I went. You'll want to click on each one to be able to actually read them.Incidentally, here's the Quick start guide and the manual.Here's the process.1. Connect up to the router and open up a browser. Go to http://routerlogin.com/ . You'll actually be redirected into the router (this is a magic domain Netgear has setup for

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-14920726389568696962010-01-28T08:43:00.000-08:002010-01-28T21:10:31.572-08:00

One answer for improving cell phone coverage is to leverage local internet connectivity and use VoIP. T-Mobile had phones a while ago that had that as a feature. AT&T and Verizon's answer to this is microcells, which provide regular cell phone connectivity with the Internet as a backhaul. Of course, AT&T's microcell isn't available yet in most places. Adding the ability for phones to fall back to

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-53819706211377061032010-01-27T20:06:00.000-08:002010-01-27T20:48:11.715-08:00

Ok. I've seen the video.The iPad represents the arrival of the viewscreen technology portrayed in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Specifically, the scene where Bowman and Poole were watching themselves being interviewed on a BBC chat show. The devices they were watching look far more like iPads than any other device that has come along so far.I can see the iPad serving one particular role for me,

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-1175960631390793892010-01-27T17:35:00.000-08:002010-01-27T17:35:00.201-08:00

So it's interesting how sometimes technology can lead in unexpected directions.The authors of phpBB included a spot on their account creation form for you to put your birthday in. This is, more or less, required by federal rules about websites tracking minors and stuff. They decided it would be fun to use that information, since they have it handy, and send you an e-mail wishing you happy

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-77464130276966411052010-01-26T18:10:00.000-08:002010-01-26T18:10:00.445-08:00

I'm glad to see Tom Hanks branching out.

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-59477434265986764672010-01-26T01:06:00.000-08:002010-01-26T01:24:43.067-08:00

Scarlet and I saw Avatar this evening. We went all-out and saw it at the IMAX theter at the AMC multiplex at Cupertino Square.I was under the misinformed impression that IMAX movies were shown on domed theaters. This theater was just like any other theater I've been in in the last year. I thought perhaps the screen was a bit bigger, and the aspect ratio looked to me to be more square.As for the

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-89602372809813307452010-01-11T18:15:00.001-08:002010-01-11T18:20:40.088-08:00

Runner-runner, no less.The money went in post-flop. I normally wouldn't play this way, but against these bots, you wind up playing far more aggressively. And besides, when the money went in, it was still the best hand.

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-25683664133655135922010-01-11T18:09:00.000-08:002010-01-12T15:14:33.958-08:00

Look what Scarlet bought for me!We spent the late part of an evening and a little time in the morning to finish it. I'm undecided as to whether to take it all apart again or shellack and frame it.

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-40524814052096182312010-01-10T14:06:00.001-08:002010-01-16T10:26:34.983-08:00

As promised yesterday, I've got ahold of a Netgear MBR624GU. The purpose of this box is to turn a mobile Internet access modem into your own personal WiFi + Ethernet hot spot. It took some doing to get it set up, and it's not quite as perfect as I had anticipated it would be, but I think it's largely close enough.The first thing I noticed when I got the thing out of the box was that the USB port

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-70684475660615174432010-01-09T17:52:00.000-08:002010-01-09T18:19:13.301-08:00

It amuses me a little bit that AT&T has still not enabled tethering for iPhones. My central argument is that just because iPhone users use more bandwidth on their phones does not necessarily imply that that "excess" usage would carry over to tethering. All AT&T has to do is price it they way they price tethering on other phones/devices. For instance, the Laptop Connect plan they offer on the USB

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-41658168892159100032010-01-05T08:49:00.000-08:002010-01-05T10:23:52.452-08:00

I've been using a Mophie Juice Pack Air on my iPhone for a while now. It performs very well in most ways - with it, the iPhone's internal battery stays at 100% most of the time. This is good for the longevity of the battery, which is good because replacing it is a gigantic pain. With the battery in place, however, I've noticed that the phone has much worse over-the-air performance. Places that

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-61607535892701930372010-01-03T13:27:00.000-08:002010-01-03T13:34:56.223-08:00

The ability to receive KCBA has given the biggest benefit of the season today.Because the Raiders are playing at home today, KTVU cannot air the Eagles / Cowboys game, which is one of the really pivotal games being played today. The winner largely determines the seating order for the NFC playoffs - never mind the fact that Eagles / Cowboys is a storied rivalry.On behalf of everyone in the bay

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-89654060263499531532009-12-31T06:34:00.000-08:002009-12-31T06:49:16.094-08:00

As you're aware, if you've been following along, when we went to the AT&T store in San Diego, we told them we were from out of town and the sales unit typed our home address here in Santa Clara into the computer and assured me that when I got the unit back home I could put in that address and it would be fine.And, for a week, it was.Apparently, that was a bug. A bug that AT&T fixed sometime

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4243055206327689863.post-65285620210030952062009-12-30T17:41:00.000-08:002009-12-30T17:47:45.498-08:00

So it's been a few days since we got home and the microcell is still working perfectly. We haven't tried really abusing the upload bandwidth while a call was in progress. The same carve-out that was in place for Vonage on our server is still in place, so that should be sufficient.I had an opportunity to test the call hand-off this morning. I called the USNO master clock (202-762-1401) in the

Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10500722547077537044noreply@blogger.com0