Archive for April, 2008
Doesn’t a single physical location where all the Web 2.0 people come together physically defeat the whole concept behind web 2.0 ?
More evidence that maybe Web 2.0 needs to be re-thought.
I was scanning through Wil’s [ WWdN in Exile ] blog and he talks about why he loves twitter, and he summed it up well for me. I have only been on twitter for about a week, and I am already addicted to it… Just the brief, but fun interactions you can have with people make it all worth while. 
Ask your parents… wow…
This is the subject line in a thread on a forum that I frequent [ GWC ]. It depressed me, since I grew up playing the Atari. Of course, I didn’t own one. My best friend did. He had the Atari and I had Intellevision. We both thought the others was WAY better.
So this I guess is yet another piece of evidence that I am old.
For those of you who don’t want to ask their parents… here are some pics, I am sure you have seen these on a garage sale or two.
The Atari
and here is the Intellivision
… but I am very excited about the [ OLED ] technology and the idea of having it come into the TV market is really cool.
Check out this cool little image …
Now, granted this particular TV is a samsung, which I am not a huge fan of, but dang it it just looks so cool.
Rumor has it that Sony, Toshiba, Samsung, and LG have all gotten on the OLED bandwagon, which is cool, and engadget just twittered that Panasonic is also on board.
The next generation of iPhones will also likely carry and OLED display which will increase battery life….
Sweet.
I decided to [ watch BOL ] live today rather then wait for the podcast release since I like to follow the live chat while the three buzzers get their thang on…
So meanwhile I am surfing the [ Make blog ] and run across this ….
[ WII superhero ] Made me laugh… and then I thought, that would be so cool… and again, it adds a whole new dimension to how you would play the game. So ROCK on WII superhero…
So, I decided that I couldn’t wait for my May 1st DMV appointment and decided to brave the elements and visit DMV unannounced. Generally, that means that for the rest of the day you get to hear a woman, who sounds lie she is calling a bingo game, say “Now serving B130 at window number 21″. Of course the B130 changes each time… sometimes it is a G or a C. What is funny is that for some reason when they get to the number right before me, they always seem to switch to a different alpha. So today I was B193… and when they got to B192 I was all excited. I was prepped and ready to stand up and scream “BINGO!”, but the next number ? G205. Then G206… Then G207… Then C234. Then C235.. Then G208. Very frustrating…
Of course as soon as I stop paying rapt attention, they call me. WooT! I was fortunate. It was a VERY slow day at DMV and I was in and out in under 20 minutes. UNHEARD of. and no, I will not tell you which DMV office I go to, since I am not ruining it. The Bellflower DMV, even with an appointment, is a guaranteed 4 hour visits.
So Anyway… now for the unveiling. Here is the DMV lady happily showing the plates. : As soon as I snapped this photo with my iPhone she realized that I would likely stick it up online… I assured her that her face is barely visible..
Here is the beautiful plate on my car :
ROCK! So when you see me buzzing around the greater Los Angeles area, give me shout out with the horn…. 
I am not sure why. I think it is a cool concept, but the majority of my “friends” (i.e. the people that give a rat’s butt what I am doing) are not online, or communicate with me via other methods.
I want to try it out though, since most of the tech podcasts I listen too talk about it, and now I can follow John Dvorak… LOL
So, who knows how often I will text in various useless pieces of information about what I am doing, or whatever. If you want to follow, I added a “widget” for twitter here on the blog, or you can join and we can follow each other. It will be a bonding experience for both of us, I am sure…
My twitter page is [ here ].
I actually considered taking the bus to work today… of course, that didn’t happen. Around LA you have to really really really plan out a bus trip since the mass transit system here REALLY blows.
Of course, I did at least check out what would be involved with a commute on the bus. Turns out it wouldn’t be HORRIBLE… but it would be annoying… very very annoying. A one way trip is over an hour long, and I am only going about 11 miles. In order to get to work on time, I would have to leave my house at 6:45 AM.
If you live in the OC - check out their cool trip planner [ OCTA ]. I don’t think I would have a problem with the morning commute, since I am usually up that early anyway, and I could get some reading done on the way to work. The problem though is the ride home. When I decide that I am done with work, I want to be home… I don’t want to sit on a bus for an hour and fifteen minutes….
Of course, then you think about the cost savings… I drive a Hyundai Sante Fe. It is a V6 compact SUV. You would think it would get decent gas mileage, but no… it does not. At best I am getting 14 to 17 mpg. So basically it takes me two plus gallons of gas a day to get to and from work, and with current gas prices being 3.75 a gallon… well it cost me 8 bucks a day to get to work….
So, in the course of a month (20 - 24 work days ) I will spend 160.00 to 192.00 dollars traveling to and from work. Now, that seems like a lot, but a 30 day buss pass will cost me 128.00. So, I am only really saving 32.00 to 64.00 dollars. Is it worth it. No, not really. Given that it will add another 1 hour (round-trip) to my travel time each day for a loss of 24 hours a month. A WHOLE day, every month GONE… Pass.
BUT.. it is earth day. So, shouldn’t I be concerned about it. Shouldn’t I want to do my part in salvaging the earth. Sure, but ultimately it won’t matter. Nothing that I do on an individual level is going to make any difference compared to how big business is destroying the planet. Is that a defeatest attitude, yes, but c’mon, haven’t we been defeated. I am not saying that we should make things worse, but can we really make anything better. No. So, if taking the bus is more cost effective for you, then do it. If you use a lot of plastics, then you should definitely be recycling.
In the end though, something more major will have to happen to save this earth.
Not that you need more proof, but … [ here it is anyway ] .
The RIAA spends far more money tracking down our grannies, and our homeless to sue them for money they don’t have then they are “losing” due to piracy.
Bear in mind that I do NOT condone piracy, and in fact I find it offensive to take what you did not pay for. That being said, the RIAA, and the MPAA need to spend more time finding ways to make the online music craze work for them, rather then trying to work against a monster that is bigger then all of us…