jmcgready’s misc universe

hey all,

Got to use the scooter I got with the OT from Christmas break -

it’s a Xootr (pronounced zooter) Cruz Ultra and all I can say is wow!

Put it to the test today, putting a grueling yet satisfying 5-6 miles,

3-4 of which was mostly on Center City sidewalks and

Old City brick pavements.

Pros:

• next to no rolling resistance - I could roll along at aimlessly wandering human speed without having to push
• gawd-awfully quick burst speed responses when needed
• any downhill grade (even a 1% grade) = cruising
• folds up and carries easy

Cons:

• no suspension - you get to feel every crack in the sidewalk
• uphill? fuhgeddaboudit!

This isn’t going to be an everyday thing, just a once per weekend thing for now…

well, mereBreath rehearsal starts in 12 hours, so I’ve gotta go…

Technorati Tags: kick scooter, observations, Cruz Ultra, Xootr

Technorati Tags: city sidewalks, observations, pavements, scooter, xootr, Xootr Cruz Ultra

This really chaps me in a very personal place - friggin’ 12 year old kid

is pulling in the bucks regurgitating press releases and geek catalog items -

on an effing Blogspot blog fer Chrissakes….

Introducing 12 Year Old ProBlogger - David Wilkinson:

I love hearing stories of of young entrepreneurs and so today when I came across

12 year old ProBlogger David Wilkinson whose Web 2.0 blog is Techzi I was over the moon.

Here’s a young guy who has recruited a couple of friends (one is 12, the other is 11) to help him write his blog

and - get this - the kid is having a fundraiser to raise $5,000 for hosting….

has he never heard of Spry VPS?

“Money For Content and Your Clicks For Free: Turning Web Sites, Blogs, and Podcasts Into Cash” (J. D. Frazer)

Technorati Tags: anger, annoying, Blog, blogging castes, feel like crap, frustrating

So you’ve just bought your Zune and you want to buy some DRM’d tunes -

you just whip out the plastic and it’s all yours, right?

not so fast….

medialoper has an an article explaining the Zune’s token-like approach to buying tunes

from medialoper:

When the Zune Marketplace launches later this week you won’t be able to buy songs with your local currency.

That’s right, your money is no good in the Zune music store.

Instead, you’ll have to convert real money to Microsoft Points,

and then use those points to purchase songs.

Of all of the puzzling Zune “features”, this one has to be the strangest.

so what are Microsoft points, anyway?

from zunemarket:

What’s all this talk about Microsoft Points?

Microsoft Points, the coin for the Zune Marketplace realm, is a system that works across borders,

including Xbox Live® Marketplace and other Microsoft properties.

You can buy Points from the Marketplace by using a credit card

or you can pick up Microsoft Points cards at a participating retail location.

and if that’s not bad enough, Microsoft is also coming up with a Napster-like

“all you can eat rental scheme” called a Zune Pass - let’s let Microsoft describe it:

A Zune Pass is different.

With a Zune Pass, you can download as many songs as you like -

listen to them on your computer or sync them to your Zune and take them with you.

Everything you download is yours to play as much as you want while your subscription is current.

(emphasis mine)

can’t keep up the subscription? bye-bye tunes….

Will they ever learn?

Technorati Tags: annoying, frustrating, miserable failure, microsoft points, stupid human tricks, zune

Technorati Tags: observations

I’m up to 3 billion Blogshares dollars and counting…..

“Money For Content and Your Clicks For Free: Turning Web Sites, Blogs, and Podcasts Into Cash” (J. D. Frazer)

Technorati Tags: blogshares, money, observations, Tech Stuff

Technorati Tags: observations

The Lenovo Tapes:

Note: The following website contains footage of alleged tests taking place at a Lenovo research facility.

The producer of this site has no opinion pertaining to the authenticity of the media.

Likewise.

I haven’t seen anything remotely like this coming from Lenovo,

and our store sells them, for cryin’ out loud.

kinda James Bondian stuff on the videos -

a shutter that senses liquid spills and engages,

a holograph generator/recorder using an embedded webcam @ the top of the screen,

and the best of all - a mini thruster based drop protection system

none of this is part of any Lenovo system in production,

let alone the one below;

“Thinkpad T60 80.0 Gb / 5400 Rpm, Intel Core Duo Processor T2400, 512 Mb, DVD Rec” (Lenovo)

{strange stuff, Tech Stuff}

Technorati Tags: hacks, lenovo, cool laptop tech

Technorati Tags: cool laptop tech, hacks, lenovo, strange stuff, Tech Stuff

Technorati Tags: cool laptop tech, hacks, lenovo, strange stuff, Tech Stuff

Rixstep:

A repository for every keyboard secret in OS X.

Some of these are well known, some are not.

Shortcuts in the Menu category are common rather than universal.

This list should continue to grow exponentially over time.

“Mac OS X Tiger: Missing Manual” (David Pogue)

{observations, Tech Stuff}

Technorati Tags: hacks, os x

Technorati Tags: hacks, observations, os x, Tech Stuff

Technorati Tags: hacks, observations, os x, Tech Stuff

Technorati Tags: observations

all last weekend, up to (and including) today, Ive been comment spam bombed

by a cadre of scum of the earth, total waste of sperm eastern european poker bots -

Fortunately, I moderate my comments, use the Akismet filter (which learns their spammy ways),

and use some referrer spam countermeasures as well.

such is the dark side of fame (1100+ unique visitors/month)

“Inside the Spam Cartel: Trade Secrets from the Dark Side” (Spammer-X)

{tags, life, Tech Stuff}

Technorati Tags: comment spam, akismet, referrer spam, corruption, hacks, strange stuff, Tech Stuff, annoying

Technorati Tags: tags

BBC NEWS | Technology | Reading ‘to go’ for blind people:

A portable scanning device that reads text to visually impaired people

will go on sale in the UK next month.

Called the K-NFB, it is the latest product to be developed by

American inventor Raymond Kurzweil.

Until now, scanning and text-to-speech output meant

having to take the printed material to the hardware.

The K-NFB, which combines a PDA and a digital camera,

means that people will be able to read menus, train timetables and product labels in shops.

{life, observations, Tech Stuff}

Technorati Tags: kurzweil, puppy, blind, artist, hacks, books

Technorati Tags: observations

Goldvish releases million dollar cell phone:

If you thought Paris Hilton’s blinged-out Sidekick was a sight to behold, you’ve got another thing coming.

Sure, you could drop seven figures on the 1001hp Bugatti Veyron and rip around the mountain passes,

but wouldn’t you much rather spend over a million dollars on a cell phone?

{Tech Stuff, observations, Retail Lexicon, strange stuff}

Technorati Tags: annoying, frustrating, money, text messaging

Technorati Tags: observations, Retail Lexicon

World Jump Day:

apparently this is an attempt to get 600 million people to jump at the same time,

thus (according to information on the organizer’s website) will alter the earth’s orbit

and save us from global warming….

and all you have to do is to jump on a hard ground surface at exactly 11:39 and 13 seconds GMT on July 20th 2006.

In Philly, that translates to 6:39 AM….

screw that.

“Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds” (Charles Mackay)

{life, observations, strange stuff, Tech Stuff}

Technorati Tags: lemmings, screw that, world jump day, puppy

Technorati Tags: observations