8 posts tagged “geek”

I haven't had anything to say so I haven't been blogging much, and I haven't missed it. I've been posting new stuff to Flickr, but even that's been a little slow going (some videos & more pics in queue to go up), and Twitter's received most of my (limited) attention lately. Twitter's forced 140 characters seem right up my alley lately, even if it does result in some hideous abbreviations (my apologies to ALL of my English teachers and professors over the course of my formal education!)
 
Anyway, my inner geek has been spoiled lately and that's the reason for this blog post. Despite our house apparently entering its midlife crisis, forcing the repair or replacement of some very expensive items, Justin and I both almost wordlessly agreed we need to enjoy some of our money before we go absolutely insane. Justin ordered a new computer (saving about $500 thanks to his brother's employee discount & no tax) and a little while back, a new camera lens. I bought my first Chumby a couple months ago, and a mate for it this past week. The Chumby couple won't technically be within "arm's reach" of one another--one will live in the kitchen/downstairs and the other lives on my bedside table, soon to be mounted on the wall, in direct line of site from the bed. A couple days ago, while surfing Amazon, I noticed the Kindle is finally back in stock and shipping immediately; that got me vacillating between techno-lust and "Shit, $399 is insane..."  When Justin gave the nod that it was mine if I wanted it, that opened the gates and I placed my order while visiting my folks today (Saturday).

So, my inner geek is dancing and squeaking with delight, and we're enjoying some hard earned income and "helping the American economy." Yeah, that's the ticket...just doing our part for America!

My Kindle arrives on Wednesday (or Tuesday, but I'm guessing Wednesday) so I'm in the information sponge stage re-reading everything I'd read about it when it came out, and discovering the user-submitted pics on Amazon for it contain a wealth of good little nuggets and tips (bought the book light since it doesn't have a backlit screen and I want to read it, like now, when Justin & Sara are asleep beside me.)

Hope all's well in your neck of the woods. S'all good here, at least 'til something else in the house fails. I don't have the energy to describe the crazy pipe clanging noise that's mysteriously started up in our kitchen. We thought we'd fixed that simply by replacing the water filter in our refrigerator, but no dice.

Like everyone who joins Twitter, I’m trying to optimize my usage of it and find the best way to mesh it into my life in a fun and productive manner. Sarah Dopp’s post, “More Twitter Tips,” had a terrific tip I’ve been needing. Since I have unlimited Internet on my Blackberry, but a limited (~200/month) SMS [...]

:: 500 character article excerpt; visit GeekHabitat.com for more. ::

Justin just found out about this and we both think it ROCKS!  When you need your Star Trek fix it's just a mouse-click away and doesn't cost you a penny!

http://www.cbs.com/classics/star_trek/video/video.php

Loving my brand new chumby from chumby.com. Like an iPod allowed us all to literally have a soundtrack for our lives, the chumby is our personal portal to the content we want to bring into our lives, delivered automatically when we want it. Sweet!

(Excuse the blurry photo... it's late so I just snapped a quick shot with my Blackberry in low light, and too close to the screen, so blurry is the name o' the game.)

Re: the chumby's featured Flickr app -- I just LOVE that unlike my eStarling (digital photo frame), this can automatically pull from protected collections/photos (with authorization of course) vs. relying strictly on unauthenticated RSS feeds.

I love technology as much as the next geek, but when my potted plants start having the capacity to call me and demand to be watered or provided with better light (more here; don't miss the newsreel and sample audio from an unhappy moss), I'm going to have to relocate them all to... a quiet porch somewhere.

Found on: Twitter.com (User Pothos, via Botanicalls)

I went to Google Maps to refresh my memory on an intersection I travel regularly, since there is supposed to be a drop box for clothing and small appliance donations to a children's home there (at least per their mailing I just received.) Once on the appropriate map, I realized it had a Street View available, which I had not used (or noticed) before for San Antonio streets.

I got sidetracked while in Street View, and "drove" my cursor down Prue Rd., toward Fredericksburg Rd. Anyone that travels this area of town knows that road's been FUBAR'd for, what, almost a year now (maybe longer? My brother says it's not slated for completion until Summer 2010!?) Anyway, I wanted to see if the Street View just died at the roadblock, or if they sent some intrepid Google contractor bicycling past the road barricades with a camera mounted on his/her helmet. No dice, the map ends at the barricades. {grin}

I then went back in Street View to scout the intersection for likely drop boxes or collection stations, but I have come up empty-handed. Guess I'll have to go the low-tech route and pay more attention the next time I'm parked at one of the interminably long lights there.

One thing I noticed was the "coming" and "going" pictures for the same road segment in Street View don't appear to necessarily be taken at the same time. Case in point: arriving at the Prue&Babock Valero gas station from Babcock in Street View shows an unleaded gas price of $2.99, whereas arriving at the station from the Fredericksburg-side of Prue results in a price of $2.95 at the same station, as well as entirely different traffic/vehicles.

That brought me back to Google to learn what technology they're using to compile the Street View data. Guess I need to keep on the lookout for one of these in the future! (That thing should be mounted to a Prius or at least a TDI VW! ... /rant)

And of course, any exploration of Street View invariably leads to virtual voyeurism. Hey, dude -- breaking and entering? -- Google's watching! (See more here).

Reposted from Flickr:
"Hubby is teaching his photography class after work (second year in a row that it just happens to fall on Valentine's Day,) so it's another late night before we lay eyes on each other again.

(Yes, he has his own 'I <3 my geek' t-shirt. We have three cats so we don't wear black much, not without a lint roller and 30 minutes to kill, that is.)"

I <3 My Geek

This time last year, I was nesting in anticipation of Sara's birth. Little did I know that just one month and one day later, she would already be in our lives! (Her due date was April 1, 2007.) She is 11 months old as of tomorrow!