Archive for 'geek' Category

2013.05.18

If This Then That

I’ve been playing around with IfTTT, an interesting tool to help you automate your online presence. Basically it gives you the ability to say if this happens in my online accounts, then make that happen.

For example, I’m testing it out with three different “recipes”. Each one starts with my “if this” which is, “If I post a new video to my account on YouTube.” What I wanted was that if I posted something new I could automatically post it to this blog, to my Twitter account and make a note in Evernote. Each one has to be a separate recipe, but I created them and will be posting some video in the near future as a test.

I learned about IfTTT from Jamie Todd Rubin who is a major proponent of going paperless and also a pretty accomplished author. While I’m not entirely ready to go paperless, I do enjoy learning where I can automate my life to make things so much easier and get more done.

2012.04.11

Dropbox Invitations

ХудожникподаръциOK, this is something shady but as I want the extra space for my Dropbox account, I’m going to post it anyways. They are offering extra space to my account if you sign up for a Dropbox account by clicking this link. You might ask yourself, “Why should I bother?” Honestly, the answer is you probably shouldn’t bother but with the account you can upload files (like large picture albums or music) to Dropbox and then share it with someone to download. You can also use it to synch files between various devices like your computer, your phone and other things if they are web enabled. For a long time I ignored Dropbox but lately I’ve been using it to back up certain things I don’t want lost in the case of a fire or earthquake, and now I want to back up a bit more (and also some other stuff, but let’s not go into that).

You can sign up for the service and get 2GB for free, which is what I’ve done, and then get more space by either paying for it (blech) or by getting your pals to sign up (also blech). Since I refuse to pay for things if I can help it I’m asking that A) if you have considered using Dropbox then B) please click on this link to sign up so I can get more free space.

Meanwhile, please return to your regularly scheduled day and don’t let this obvious crap get in the way.

2011.11.21

Baby Battleship

A couple nights ago we tried letting Ainara cry herself to sleep. In the course of 15 minutes she cried at every pitch and volume her little vocal chords could manage, and I began to discern something curious. Without her even knowing, I could start playing Battleship with my daughter. Or, at least, she could start trying to sink my battleships…

In Battleship you take two coordinates, X and Y, and guess where the ships are. Ainara’s crying modulates pitch (think musical scale) and volume (in too many decibels). Using pitch and volume for X and Y I could start playing. It would pass the time!

But given how little sleep we’ve gotten, I’d say she already sunk our Battleship…

2011.07.27

Book Covers for Technology

I really like the look of Twelve South’s BookBook iPhone, iPad and Macbook covers. I’m not sure if I like the iPhone version; creating one location for my iPhone, ID, credit cards and cash seems like a bad idea.

Still… book, leather, and all that’s missing is actual paper like the Moleskine case.

2011.05.20

US Govt Admits Possible Zombie Apocalypse

This is something I never thought I would see. The CDC is trying to get people disaster prepared, and what could be worse than a zombie apocalypse? Not a whole lot. All I need to add to my disaster kit is something to stop my zombie assailants “by removing the head or destroying the brain“.

I guess the government isn’t so much admitting there are zombies in the world as they are preparing us for a just-in-case scenario. I want to see the page where they help us prepare for dinosaurs!

2011.04.12

Periodic Table of Storytelling

Thank you DeviantArt user ComputerSherpa for creating the awesome Periodic Table of Storytelling based off of the sometimes hilarious TV Tropes site (which isn’t just TV). Now if I could just figure out how to use this alchemical mix to get published.

2011.03.14

Triumph Tiger XC Test Ride

Last year I was dreaming about the new Triumph Tiger 800 motorcycles coming out. Over the weekend the Triumph Demo Days truck rolled in to Munroe Motors and, well, I couldn’t resist. I had to go take a ride.

The Tiger 800s are a new pair of motorcycles geared to fit the enduro market with the Tiger 800 XC fully enduro and the Tiger 800 leaning more towards road use. On Saturday I lined up and was surprised to find no line for me to demo an XC (with road tires, not knobblies). I couldn’t wait. I’ve never done a demo ride, and my group riding is practically nil. George, the Triumph employee that drives the Demo Days truck and sets up the rides walked us through the basics and my nervousness subsided to simple excitement of riding a freshly designed machine.

I wasn’t disappointed. Oh no.

The moto is easy to handle, lighter than I expected, and had good punch for the road but not so much that I would expect to slip in off road conditions. It took me a couple tries to get used to the back brake (I’m used to my Thruxton’s forward seating position) but it didn’t take long to adjust. Sitting up higher was a treat, and the drive took us up Twin Peaks and back down which had a few fun twists and an amazing view.

I love this machine, and perhaps I’m just an easy mark for Triumph but I have the feeling that someday down the road I just might have one of these Tiger 800s… Now I just have to convince my lovely wife (not so subtle hint, neh?).

Looking up links for this article I came across the blog of Moto Saint (Ricardo Gomez) who wrote about his own experiences and loved the XC, too. I was so chuffed to be riding I didn’t think to take pictures so you should definitely go see his post!

2011.03.11

DRN Theme 2.0

So I’ve updated this site’s theme. It’s only taken several years to do. While not ready for public consumption it is ready to be used. There won’t be a whole lot of new features that you’ll notice but some of them are the ability to subscribe to comments, easier management of the blogrolls (for me), widgetized sidebar, better page navigation at the bottom, and more that is coming, though probably not noticeable to you (which is good!).

If you happen to notice something broken or wonky on the site please leave a comment. Once the theme is ready for general distribution I’ll leave a link so you, too, can download and try it out!

2011.02.06

Galaxy Quest Documentary

I love the movie Galaxy Quest, an extremely well made parody of space TV shows like Star Trek (particularly the original). Apparently Triage Entertainment (warning: irritating Flash) made a mockumentary about the movie that (might have been) shown on E! that has the characters talking about the fictitious TV series. Brilliant. Here it is in three parts: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.

Does anyone know where to get a decent copy of the entire piece?

2011.01.24

I Left Facebook

Well, I’ve deactivated my account on Facebook. Why? For a whole host of reasons too long to really go into, but which can be summarized thus:

1: It doesn’t actually enhance my social life.
2: Vicariously following my “friends” doesn’t enhance my relationship with them.
3: Facebook has some serious privacy issues, and that’s not all.
4: My personal life is my own, and doesn’t need to be complicated by a site that feels so impersonal.

Each one of those points could be an entire essay. Note that many of these same reasons apply to why I never got into many of the other “social” media trends except Twitter, and that was purely to get me some free software; huzzah!

It was great when they had Scrabulous but since then I’ve hardly used it. I rarely checked on friend’s profiles, never used any of their games, and pretty much only followed the news feed, which was almost useless since it posted people’s updates that I didn’t care to follow and removed the ability to customize it. After a while I stopped checking that even. Upon a wild occasion I would post my own status update. I think the last ones were wishing folks a Happy XMas (which I could do here) and posting pictures from the wedding, which I did post here. So why don’t I just do what I’m doing here, where the only privacy concerns are the ones I make myself, where you can read what you want (or not!), and live my life by arranging to meet people in person that I can and calling or sending an email to the people I can’t? No reason.

So, that’s all for now. Maybe (maybe!) someday I’ll return but in the meantime I’m going to make a concerted effort to update this site a bit more. I know, I’ve been saying that for a long time, but I’m hoping that this time it actually sticks.

In the meantime, I know in this “modern” and “social” environment that it’s kind of shocking to some if they see their “friend” suddenly not on their “list” and feel put out. I hope you find this page and realize it’s nothing personal against you. This is just something I wanted to do. We can still be friends in the real world.