Yearly Archives: 2007

Blogging from an iPhone

Fun, Technology

This is my first blog from an iPhone. It’s a sleek device, but its going to take a while to get comfortable with the keyboard; so far i keep having to correct typos. So its not perfect.

Im actually writing from my brothers iPhone; we went and picked them up here in san diego an hour after the iLosers cleared out. I cant believe people were paying for spots in line.. There was no shortage of iphones whatsoever. I’ll activate mine when i get back.. I hope it turns out to be a good device.. It certainly has potential.

Ok enough for now im sure you’ll get more from me on the iphone later.

Will the iPhone Succeed or Fail

Business & Economy, Technology

are you saving your pennies for a new iPhone… or are you mocking those who are? a lot of people are predicting the iPhone to take Apple to new heights while others are predicting a horrible future for the product. some people are buying all the Apple stock they can get their hands on… some are just trying to raise enough money to buy the actual device 🙂

some say the iPhone is a doomed convergence device… that convergence devices rarely succeed… and that the iPhone is going to be nothing like the iPod was/is for Apple.

personally i think the iPhone is no more a convergence device than the PC… in fact that’s all the iPhone is… it’s the first truly feature rich handheld PC. whether or not version 1 of the iPhone succeeds the iPhone will succeed in pushing PC’s to a place that Microsoft has not been able to in the last 7 or 8 years. maybe Apple stock bombs… and they have to go back to the drawing board as Nokia and Motorola and Samsung finally build devices that require more than $3.12 to bring to market… while M$ figures out a way to get it’s bloated resource hogging OS to work on such a ‘small’ hard-drive (8 gigabytes). the good thing is… at least somebody is doing it… multi sense touch screen… wireless internet… and applications that i really want access to while i’m out and about.

what about you, what do you think?

Spurs vs Cavs Finals

Sports

back at the start of the NBA season i saw a Spurs vs Cavs game… in which Lebron James was a noticeably dominant player. after the run of a lifetime against the Pistons he’s heading back to San Antonio to face the Spurs for a much more important best of seven series.

these games are going to be really good!

if you’re a Spurs fan… get to the game >> Spurs Tickets

if you’re a Cavs fan… or if you just want to see the amazing LJ >> Cavs Tickets

i might get to go to game 2 in San Antonio… but first i need to sell my boat!

W3 Schools – Google Toolbar Button Download

Apps, Programming

i really like W3 Schools… from time to time i find myself on their site brushing up on something i forgot or learning something new. it’s a tremendous resource for any web developer. at the same time i’m really digging the Google toolbar buttons… i made one for TicketCity.com and i have the one for DomainTools.com installed as well… there are a couple of others i’m sure i’ll get around to installing soon. in the meantime i made a W3 Schools button for the Goog toolbar for myself… but as usual i figure there are other nerds out there who might be interested in the same thing… if so you can install it by clicking here.

the W3 Schools button lets you search their site from the toolbar and i’ve also added links to the major categories… HTML,XML,SQL,JavaScript and on and on.

Seamless Display on Multiple Computer Monitors

Technology

if you’re still using a single computer monitor at work or the house you really need to step it up… but before you simply upgrade to dual monitors or even a three screen setup… or go out and get a mega wide screen… you gotta check out Seamless Display monitors. this is what i need… well maybe i want it more than i need it, but still i could be extra productive at work and you could really improve the quality of my home usage too. check out the future of multiple monitors >> http://www.seamlessdisplay.com/

Radius 320 Monitor (Multiple Computer Monitors)

Horizon 320 Monitor (Multiple Computer Monitors)

ACL 2007 Lineup

Fun, Music

The official 2007 Austin City Limits Festival Band Lineup has been released! No more ACL rumors… for another year anyhow.

Fans of popular and indie music will be treated with an extremely diverse lineup. As previously discovered, thanks to the ACL Crossword Puzzle, acts like the White Stripes and Bjork where already known… but now the full list is out. Here’s a sample of the acts:

Bob Dylan and His Band
Bjork
The White Stripes
The Killers
Wilco
Arcade Fire
Muse
My Morning Jacket
Queens of the Stone Age
Bloc Party
Artic Monkeys
Gotan Proect
Joss Stone
Damien Rice
Robert Earl Keen
Lucinda Williams
Spoon
Blue October
Indigo Girls
The Decemberists
Paolo Nutini
Regina Spektor
Amy Winehouse
Crowded House
Steve Earle
Ziggy Marley
Stephen Marley
Kaiser Chiefs
LCD Soundsystem
Devotchka
Augustana
Amos Lee
MIA
Ben Kweller
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Andrew Bird
Bela Fleck & the Flecktones

for the full lineup >> http://www.aclfest.com/lineup.aspx

>> ACL 3 Day Passes
>> ACL Fest Friday Tickets
>> ACL Fest Saturday Tickets
>> ACL Fest Sunday Tickets

How to Beat A Speeding Ticket for $50

Business & Economy, Fun, Funny

speeding is… fun… but dangerous… and when you get caught it’s expensive. seriously, i speed a lot more than most the people i know. thanks to good old mom and dad 🙂 whom i remember driving 90mph in DFW and on I20 all the time when i was a young’n. since those days it seems like the rest of the world just has no sense of urgency when getting from point a to point b… hehe. don’t worry i do slow down from time to time on a country drive, especially in the winding Texas hill country.

anyhow… my dad told me for years and years… when you get a speeding ticket, you just pay a lawyer some nominal fee and they’ll get the ticket dismissed. he always told me this after i had told him i just paid a ticket or had to take defensive driving… and before i got my next ticket (i’m forgetful obviously, cause i’ve had plenty-o-tickets).

so a month ago i got a speeding ticket while up in Hurst… headed out to a Mavericks game, which was much better than the thumping they took last night from the GS Warriors :(. the ticket was gonna cost me $248 for 10+ MPH over the speed limit… c’mon i didn’t feel like i was in danger or that i was endangering anyone else on the road. o yeah, in fact i had just passed some idiot who was actually backing up on the road… yeah this nuthead was in reverse! anyhow the copper topper saw me… not the real reckless driver.

anyhow… finally… i remembered to get a ‘traffic attorney’!! i saved big bucks 🙂 the legal fee was $50 flat, and i was already late to report on the ticket… but no worries there hadn’t been a warrant issued yet. even if there had been a warrant out… the legal fees would’ve still been much cheaper than paying the ticket.

so how does it work… my understanding is that the attorney calls up the courthouse and asks for “probation” the court says “sure”… then you just don’t get another ticket within the same county for 3 months and it will be dismissed.

so the moral to this story…. speeding is dangerous… but, with this new found knowledge it doesn’t have to be as expensive as it has been for however long you’ve been paying the tickets and taking defensive driving!

enjoy

ACL Festival 2007 (band rumors)

Music

tickets to the 2007 Austin City Limits Festival (ACL Fest) went on sale last week… and sold out quick! there will be single day tickets released in upcoming weeks and months so you can check for official website for tickets or you can find tickets for re-sale from people who already got their hands on some tickets >> acl tickets.

so who’s performing in 2007… good question.. there’s been a lot of speculation and some confirmations… but the headliners haven’t been revealed just yet. there was a lot of talk abou The Police and Pearl Jam, but it appears that neither will happen. also, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Smashing Pumpkins… again the rumors seem to be nope on both those bands. at this point likely bands still include White Stripes and Foo Fighters… but still with another several weeks before offiical lineup annoucements there is a lot of speculation… especially when it was reported that organizer Charles Attal mentioned that headliners would be “bigger” than Smashing Pumpkins and RHCP.

i don’t intend to update this post or my blog on the matter… unless of course i discover… which i highly doubt.. that RATM are on board… but if you want to see the latest rumors i suggest:

http://aclfest2007rumors.blogspot.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_City_Limits_Music_Festival#2007

Pandora & Internet Radio Petition

Apps, Music, Politics

from pandora:

Hi, it’s Tim from Pandora,

I’m writing today to ask for your help. The survival of Pandora and all of Internet radio is in jeopardy because of a recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, DC to almost triple the licensing fees for Internet radio sites like Pandora. The new royalty rates are irrationally high, more than four times what satellite radio pays, and broadcast radio doesn’t pay these at all. Left unchanged, these new royalties will kill every Internet radio site, including Pandora.

In response to these new and unfair fees, we have formed the SaveNetRadio Coalition, a group that includes listeners, artists, labels and webcasters. I hope that you will consider joining us.

Please sign our petition urging your Congressional representative to act to save Internet radio: http://capwiz.com/saveinternetradio/issues/alert/?alertid=9631541

Please feel free to forward this link/email to your friends – the more petitioners we can get, the better.

Understand that we are fully supportive of paying royalties to the artists whose music we play, and have done so since our inception. As a former touring musician myself, I’m no stranger to the challenges facing working musicians. The issue we have with the recent ruling is that it puts the cost of streaming far out of the range of ANY webcaster’s business potential.

I hope you’ll take just a few minutes to sign our petition – it WILL make a difference. As a young industry, we do not have the lobbying power of the RIAA. You, our listeners, are by far our biggest and most influential allies.

As always, and now more than ever, thank you for your support.

-Tim Westergren
(Pandora founder)

Google Maps – My Maps

Apps, Search Engines

google maps just got a lot cooler… imagine that. now you can create and share you’re own custom maps. this is going to be great for giving somebody custom directions. developers with the know-how should be able to integrate custom maps onto their site pretty easily. thanks again G!

take a test drive… here is a super cheesy map of >> my moring drive to work