third

I've moved

2008-10-29T12:25:00.000-07:00

Hola, I've decided to change blogging engines and thus URLs. If you want my new blog URL, please drop me a line in email or leave a comment.

Thanks,
- joe

Enter California

2008-10-05T18:04:00.001-07:00

Enter California, originally uploaded by joekwon.

Literally as we got to the Cali border the sun came out for the first
time in days.

In Seattle

2008-09-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

Was gorgeous yesterday, but today is returning to the Seattle that most people might think of. Cloudy with the ever present threat of rain.

It's good seeing family, and I got to see my newphew play in one of his JV football games.

That being said, the ginormous spiders are killing me. Seriously, they're huge.

photo.jpg

2008-08-31T19:47:00.001-07:00

photo.jpg, originally uploaded by joekwon.

Secure Gmail From Peeping Eyes

2008-08-12T08:13:00.000-07:00

Now there are ways for securing your web traffic completely, but I will just give you a quick tip for using Gmail without feeling like your company is cataloging all your email.

When you're in Gmail, go to Settings, and towards the bottom you will see "Browser Connection". Select the "Always use https" and then log out and log back into your email. If you see https:// at the beginning of the URL then you're secured.

This will setup Gmail so that your company or malicious hacker can't automatically record your Gmail session.

Now why do you want to secure your web traffic? The reality is this, a large percentage of companies monitor and log employee internet usage. It's really easy for a company IT department to employ this technology, so no matter how small your company is, you're not free from this practice.

In fact I have a friend who owns a small business with a handful of employees, and he digitally records all his employ keystrokes all their computers so he knows everything about the internet habits.

[via Gmail Blog]

I Swear I Haven't Laughed This Hard In Forever

2008-08-11T13:52:00.000-07:00

Seriously, if you have or know a first generation korean mom, you cannot deny how accurate and hilarious these entries are.

Thanks to Tim for passing this link.
http://stuffkoreanmomslike.blogspot.com

Joe Kart Racing

2008-08-05T22:40:00.000-07:00

We've been trying to plan an evening to invite our neighbors over for dinner since it turns out we are loosely connected thru some mutual friends, but our neighbors beat us to the punch, and then 1-up'd us. Yes, 1-up'd.

Our neighbor Shin (the blurry guy below), invited us out to go Kart Racing up in Sylmar at an indoor track. It's kind of pricey for non-members, $23 per race, but if you go more than once in a year, I'd recommend just becoming a member for $40-$50.

He invited us back a few weeks, so I've been waiting for a while and I was pretty excited to go because who doesn't like Kart racing?

Here I am, excited with my Large sized helmet. At least I didn't have to use the XXL helmet, my self-esteem would've shot down like the housing market.

It takes a while get into a race, because there is only one track, and only 10 people on the track at a time, I didn't get to race for about 2 hours from when I signed up. Oh well, that's what I get for being late, the races filled up.

Once I got racing, it was pretty awesome, and it was actually pretty darn hard. A lot harder than it looked from the sidelines. These karts go up to 50mph tho I'm pretty sure i barely hit 30 because I'm a wuss and I spun out twice.

Here's me freaking out from making a turn while a someone laps me in a blur.

In anycase, it was really fun hanging out with my neighbor and his friends getting to know them.

Grace sat out since she had to babysit our kids while I went racing away. What a trooper.

You can check out more photos at flickr or my mobileme gallery.

***** UPDATE *****
After every race they print out your racing stats, and mine are plain embarrassing. Here they are for you to laugh at.

I love paperclips

2008-08-05T15:01:00.001-07:00

I love paperclips, originally uploaded by joekwon.

They're so versatile. I used three and bent them into s-shaped hooks
so I can hang my headphones off the side of my desk to save valuable
desktop real-estate.

Google Maps Got A FaceLift

2008-07-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

So bizzarre. For a while I've been thinking that the way Google Maps made you click on Search, Business, Directions was kind of a waste of time. This thought came up yesterday as I was using it.

And this morning, lo and behold, Google Maps got a facelift, and it unified those search fields into a single one.

Huzzah!

Very Tired

2008-06-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

All I do is work, work out, and sit in bed spacing out to BBC World News on TV.

I have stuff to post, but just haven't had the energy to.

I'm so ready to come home.

Soon, but not soon enough.

Dubai - First Full Day

2008-06-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

Woke up and went to the gym.

Then met my co-worker at 11 and we went to the Mall of the Emirates. The biggest mall outside of the US. I guess the US loves shopping that much.

While waiting for the cab in the blistering, humid heat, we got a look at the Burj Dubai. The tallest building in the world.

The mall is large, but honestly looks like South Coast plaza just with a major cosmopolitan customer base. Honestly a common question everyone asks here is: "Where are you from?"

The place has a big electronics wing and we saw this baby:

It's ginormous! 103" Plasma. It's like the TV in Barney Stensen's apartment.

Then after a while we actually took it upon ourselves to experience indoor skiing/snowboarding.

I was REALLY bad, man I'm horrible at snowboarding. Forgot how to do everything. I crashed pretty hard a few times, but it's okay. A good crash is good for the soul.

Truly Dubai is a crazy and extravegant place. So many people, and amazing things to see. We had dinner with our Dubai office co-worker who took us out and gave us history and background on Dubai. It's super interesting how the royalty just says, "I want a chinatown, build me a china town in 6 months" and literally 6 months later, a whole section of dubai is dedicated to a chinatown completely with a mall built in the shape of a dragon with all chinese vendors inside. Who has that kind of power?

Anyways, tomorrow hoping to see the Burj Al-Arab before I head home. The world's only 7-star hotel and it costs $50 just to walk thru the front door.

More later.

In Dubai

2008-06-12T23:49:00.000-07:00

Didn't have much time to post the past few days, and honestly I didn't have any interesting to report.

But a few days stuck in a hotel can drive you crazy. Cabin Fever!

So what's the remedy? Going to Dubai and staying in a different hotel!

Don't know what to think about this:

Last chance for Duty Free!

Hoping to see a few sites today:

Burj al-arab Hotel
Burj Dubai Tower
Indoor Ski Resort
and whatever else.

The Al Manzil Hotel

2008-06-12T13:01:00.001-07:00

The Al Manzil Hotel, originally uploaded by joekwon.

Yes. There is a tub in middle of my room. I love the design.

Me hotel elevator is awesome

2008-06-10T21:44:00.001-07:00

Me hotel elevator is awesome, originally uploaded by joekwon.

Because you press the floor buttons a second time to cancel them. Finally!

Day Four

2008-06-10T15:14:00.001-07:00

Literally I did nothing today, not even work out. So tired...

BTW, Quality is worse because I was feeling lazy and used my built-in webcam on my Mac instead of my new camera.

Me! Using lesser technology. That's how tired I am. I know. Shh! I know...

Day Three - BeedeeOh

2008-06-09T20:12:00.000-07:00

Again with the crazy face, I need to figure out how to make a normal face for the stillshot.

Day Two - Video-ified

2008-06-08T14:27:00.000-07:00

w00t! My face is kind of right this time.

Crazy Cleaning Staff

2008-06-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

So far, the service in Doha has been nothing short of fantastic. Everyone is polite, calls you sir, and always does so with a seemingly genuine smile. Awesome.

But the craziest ones so far are the cleaning staff. I'm a pretty tidy hotel guest, cognizant of cleaning staff duties, so I put towels where it's easy for them, move my clothes out of the way, and lock stuff up in the locker.

But since I'm going to be here for a while, I packed clothes with the intent of laundrifying them, so I had a corner of the room where I put my dirty clothes figuring "Hey, they'll see these are dirty and it's not in their way"

Uh... When I got back to my room, they neatly organized my DIRTY clothes. Even my underwear and socks (not pictured for my privacy and your sanity).

I'm not sure whether to be amazed at the service, disgusted that someone would not just touch, but ORGANIZE someone else's dirty clothes, or violated that someone organized MY dirty clothes.

Oh yeah, and my toiletries, they organized them too. Look how they organized the bottles in a neat row ordered by width.

Doha - Day One Video-ified

2008-06-08T12:55:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking! So's YOUR face!

Click on the image to play. It's a video. So's YOUR face!

Koreans are everywhere

2008-06-08T03:47:00.001-07:00

Koreans are everywhere, originally uploaded by joekwon.

Our client setup some desks for us to work while were here in Qatar and on the wall my co-workers cubicle is this little calendar from a local Korean bakery.

Korean business and their calendars.

Good Morning Doha

2008-06-07T23:01:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Doha! Had a productive morning, actually dragged my lazy butt out of bed and hit the gym on the top floor. Great View except for the super dirty windows. Apparently Sandstorms are big problem.

The view from my Bedroom

More to come later, I tried to record a video podcast, but uh... yeah, it was over flickr's 150MB video file limit so I'm trying to work some magic to get that up.

Day Two: http://flickr.com/photos/joekwon/sets/72157605496299207/

What time is it?

2008-06-07T02:19:00.001-07:00

What time is it?, originally uploaded by joekwon.

Just got to frankfurt and its 11am here but its 2am back home. I'm all confused.

One of the many food area in the lounge

2008-06-06T14:50:00.001-07:00

One of the many food area in the lounge, originally uploaded by joekwon.

Pot stickers, babybel cheese, 20 different types of cheese. I don't ever want to leave.

I know. I'm easy.

Star alliance lounge

2008-06-06T13:24:00.001-07:00

Star alliance lounge, originally uploaded by joekwon.

I don't think I can ever go back to coach after experiencing the perks of business class. The lounge is super posh and has free food and drinks.

Yes even alcohol.

Advertures in Doha

2008-06-06T09:33:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving today to go to Qatar for a big work project. It's going to be hot averaging 108 degrees everyday.

I'm writing this because if I publicly state I'm going to keep updating my trip, I'll feel obligated to, so, stay tuned for more going on.

What To Learn Next?

2008-05-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

I tend to be indecisive when it comes to what i really want. Especially when it deals with what I want to be doing with what I'm passionate about. Technology.

Right now I work for a brand strategy firm doing Technical Consulting which has been a very valuable and challenging learning experience.

But what about the skills i want to develop outside of work but still related to my field that I don't get to tackle at my day job?

Right things i think I CAN learn and learn fairly well are:

Web Stuff
- Flash
- Ruby on Rails

Interface Stuffs
- Cocoa Development (Mac OSX Apps, not the bean)
- .NET Development

Hardware Stuffs
- Electronics and hardware interfacing

But is this what I really want? I have no idea. The web stuffs would be useful, but I already do so much on the web I feel like I need to branch out a little more.

Lately I've been playing around with different UI systems such as the Wii Whiteboard and Multi-touch Interface, but I want to actually build software that can utilize these systems as much as possible.

And hardware wise, i love putting things together with my hands, which is why the most relaxing thing for me to do is to build a computer from scratch.

Uh, sorry this is a random rant.

Passing the Time

2008-05-11T10:57:00.001-07:00

Passing the Time, originally uploaded by joekwon.

Mario Kart DS ftw

Bon voyage

2008-04-18T18:19:00.001-07:00

Bon voyage, originally uploaded by joekwon.

They're Here

2008-04-14T15:25:00.001-07:00

They're Here, originally uploaded by joekwon.

Today I've seen two Smart vehicles. So tiny.

Its in the details...

2008-04-10T19:18:00.001-07:00

Its in the details..., originally uploaded by joekwon.

4-Day Work Week

2008-03-17T11:46:00.001-07:00

Fantastic.

37 Signals for the uninitiated is a small web application/design company based in Chicago.

They're famous for being very opinionated and creating very smart and simple web applications that are wildly popular like BaseCamp and CampFire.

The company can easily be described as "progressive" in the way they think about EVERYTHING so they're always looking at ways that can make them better at what they do.

Recently they posted on their company blog that they're looking at the way they can promote overall employee well-being which would then equate to higher quality work. Whodathunk?

They are now officially experimenting with:

4 day work weeks
Discretionary Credit Cards
funding personal passions such as Flight Lessons or whatever the employee is into.

Of course there is more detail than that, but you can read about it at their blog. The comments are very interesting as well.

Who Are We?

2008-03-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

TED is a conference held every year in my hometown of Monterey, CA - though next year it will be held in Long Beach, CA - where some of the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers come together to give an 18 minute talk about spreading an idea worth sharing.

Previous attendee's are Bill Gates, Al Gore, and I'm sure many famous people you have heard about.

One of the great talks this year was given by Dr. Jill Boyte Taylor a Harvard neuroanatomist who had the rare opportunity to be a brain researcher observing the event of her own stroke.

Her description of the event is nothing short of amazing.

If you have 20min to spare in your day, I suggest giving this a watch.

[via O'Reilly Radar]

Visit The TED Homepage

Twitter Explained...

2008-03-14T14:17:00.000-07:00

So I'm sure some of you have heard about Twitter, and either said:

1) Microblog? what's special 'bout that?
2) Uh, why would I want to post about what I'm doing all the time?

Well, i was just as skeptical, but for some reason it's a huge hit and shows no signs of slowing down.

CommonCraft, creators of the awesome RSS in Plain English, made a new little video explaining the benefits of what Twitter does.

So, if you decide to join twitter, let me know so I can start following you and vice versa.

[via Popgadget]

Hack Your Life

2008-03-13T14:10:00.000-07:00

LifeHacker.com is a great blog/company that specializing in making the mundane tasks of your day a little less frustrating. At first glance it seems like a lot, but once you begin to employ some of these techniques, you find that you really do work smarter, not harder.

They have a book available, but also they've been kind enough to just link to the posts that each topic is based on. Very nice of them to cannibalize their own sales for the sake of personal productivity.

[via Lifehacker]

I'm Not Sure Whether...

2008-03-13T14:01:00.001-07:00

To be proud that the mother country is so into Starcraft, or ashamed...

[via Kotaku]

I Want... Nay... NEED One of These

2008-03-11T09:04:00.001-07:00

I completely agree with Ryan Block's sentiments that something like this FINALLY has come out.

Lately I've been carrying my laptop with me everywhere, and an available power plug wherever I go is a scarcity.

My birthday is coming up, anyone want to get me one? =) Maybe it'll be available by then.

[via Engadget]

Too Thin?

2008-03-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

Steven Levy has probably published the first known documented record of accidentally throwing away a MacBook Air because he just didn't know it was in the stack of papers.

This guy is the chief technology writer over at Newsweek, and realized that he was missing his MacBook Air. After investigating he realized he threw it into the recycling bin. How appropriate because it's made from 100% recyclable materials.

I hope I put mine thru the shredder.

[Via MacUser]

The Beauty Industry Is The New Pusher

2008-03-07T14:00:00.000-08:00

iPhone SDK and the Democratization of Game Development

2008-03-07T08:15:00.000-08:00

So yesterday's big iPhone SDK was great. We're getting we all knew we would, a robust SDK and Enterprise Email support, well at least Exchange.

But what really took me was the price of the iPhone SDK, $99/$299. That's an amazingly low price. Granted, you have to have an Intel Mac, which I'm sure most iPhone developers would have, it's a great price. Also, the profit sharing model of 70% developer 30% Apple seems extremely fair.

What I was surprised by was the games that were already being demoed on the iPhone. Spore, Touch Fighter, Super Monkey Ball. That's so amazing that such games were made in only 2 weeks with a completely unknown platform to developers.

This is very interesting because if you look at the entire games industry, more and more platforms are offering methods for independent developers to make games. XBox 360/PC/Zune has XNA, Sony is offering a Dev Kit for the PS Network. Nintendo sadly isn't being as open about getting independent games on the Wii, but maybe they'll come around. Already we've seen a few success hits from small independent developers creating games. Portal anyone?

Another interesting point of note is that both the Zune and iPhone/iTouch now have game development offerings. Microsoft announced at GDC08 that the XNA Developer's suite will allow games to developed for the Zune. Essentially two new gaming platforms just came out of nowhere, and both look promising. Granted I'm the only person I know personally who owns a Zune, and I actually only bought it because I was curious and it was on sale, I can see this being a big deal for Microsoft.

The Zune Games announcement was made at GDC08 and generally less press, while Apple held it's own press announcement for the entire iPhone SDK. Apple just has way more style and flair when announcing products, Microsoft has a long way to catch up. I wonder if Apple will be at GDC09.

In any case, it's a very exciting time for developers who want to break into mobile and gaming. The barrier to entry is low and if you work hard, who knows, maybe you and a few friends could make the next Portal.

Marriage by Bejeweled

2008-03-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

So this guy wanted to ask his girlfriend to marry him, but didn't want to do the typical motions. So what does he do?

Homeboy figures out Bejeweled is her favorite game, so he wrote a custom version from SCRATCH for the DS, and that when she plays it and reaches a certain score, a ring appears on the screen and asks her to marry him.

Fantastic! Best! FTW! If only I was that creative, and uh, smart.

Check it out here.

[via Kotaku]

Credit Card Fraud

2008-03-03T09:47:00.000-08:00

So, I just came back from a business related trip to Miami. Great area, interesting place South Beach is.

Most of the trip I just used the company credit card, but there was one instance where I used my personal card at Radio Shack to buy a part I needed.

I get home from my trip, and I see several email messages and a message on my answering machine saying "we have detected fraudulent activity on your card, please let call us immediately."

And lo-and-behold, two charges to MIG33 for $50 i did not make. Right AFTER my purchase at Radio Shack? Coincidence? I think not.

View Larger Map

So they had to cancel my card, and send me a new one. Also I have to dispute the charges which last time someone charged my account $200 to some chinese company, Amex looked into it and said "sorry, you have to pay up" because they couldn't proof they were fraudulent. Bastards.

Oh well, hopefully they'll not put these charges on my account. Be careful using your credit cards when traveling.

Coming back from the Future

2008-03-01T06:24:00.001-08:00

Coming back from the Future, originally uploaded by joekwon.

So long FOWA Miami '08. Hardly knew ye.

South Beach Morning

2008-02-29T04:48:00.001-08:00

South Beach Morning, originally uploaded by joekwon.

View from News Café on Ocean Drive

My FOWA'08 Identity

2008-02-28T10:16:00.001-08:00

My FOWA'08 Identity, originally uploaded by joekwon.

I don't know why it says "academic" on my badge.

Email

2008-02-26T13:26:00.001-08:00

I'm guilty of this too. But people just don't read their email and end up responding to wrong information.

Internetz

2008-02-25T08:54:00.001-08:00

When your internet goes down, do you know what to do?

Here's a simple tip:

1) Power down all the devices related to your internet connection:
- DSL/Cable Modem
- Router (if you have a seperate one)
- Any Computers currently connected to the network including TiVo's and Game Systems.

Wait 30 sec, then one by one, turn the devices on starting with the DSL/Cable Modem, then the router (if you got one), then any computers.

This is called Power Cycling. If you call your Internet Service Provider for help, this is the first thing they'll tell you to do. So if you do it already, you can call and have them skip it.

Inconceivable

2008-02-22T19:26:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited! My favorite movie of all time, in video game form June 11th!

The Princess Bride Downloadable Game Trailer from PrincessBrideGame on Vimeo.

So small

2008-02-22T11:55:00.001-08:00

So small, originally uploaded by joekwon.

Light as...

2008-02-22T11:25:00.001-08:00

Light as..., originally uploaded by joekwon.

I took the plunge. Still not sure if this was a better decision than the iMac but we'll see if it grows on me.

I can haz techknowledgy?

2008-02-15T15:49:00.001-08:00

I can haz techknowledgy?, originally uploaded by joekwon.

My desk at work is a little too much right now.

3 computers all macs.

Random File System Issues

2008-02-13T19:28:00.001-08:00

I had a really strangely named folder _E-o?@#$J and I couldn't delete it windows or mac os x, neither system could actually recognize it even tho it was listed in the parent folder.

So I couldn't rename or delete, spent hours trying to figure this out.

Eventually after much trial and error, I had to do a "dir _* /X" to find the "Short Name" of the folders, then I had to "ren" them to something else, THEN I could finally delete them.

*sigh* that was painful.

Random Liquid Tip

2008-02-13T14:18:00.001-08:00

I was having lunch with some co-workers today and I showed them a tip to transfer liquid easily from one cup/bowl to another without spilling.

What you do is hold a straw/chopstick/utensil straight up from the middle of the receiving container, and then pour the liquid into the container while touching the top end of the straw/chopstick/utensil to the mouth of the pouring container.

What happens is the liquid becomes attracted to the straw/chopstick/utensil and flows straight down as opposed to flowing down outside of the pouring container.

I believe this is called the concept of Water Capillarity.

This helps a lot when you're sharing soup with someone and don't want to spoon over the liquid or risk spilling all over the table.

I'll try to post a video, but this really does work.

Spin The Black Circle

2008-02-05T08:17:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Black Circle.

This is an extremely simple game where all you do is press the left or right arrow to turn the world, Loco Roco style!

The object of the game is to guide the pokeball-like sphere into the black hole by spinning the world.

I got the level in the screenshot, but then I stopped. Let me know what your top level is.

[via WaxyLinks]

orz 2008

2008-02-04T15:41:00.001-08:00

ZOMG! I finally get Microsoft Office 2008 mac installed and all I notice is a little performance increase with a small visual update! what the frick!?~!

All I wanted was better Exchange synchronization, just like what Outlook has HAD for almost a decade. Entourage 2008 STILL does not sync notes or tasks. Why the hell not?

Here's an interview from APC with the MacBU at Microsoft.

The guy just blatantly says "we don't support that at this time." I have no idea how the interview restrained himself from punching the Microsoft MacBU Product Manager.

What the hell have they been doing for the last 4 years? It's not rocket science. It's S O F T W A R E that their company happens to specialize in.

They site in earlier blogs that there will be "improvements" for Exchange support. The only thing that's even mentioned is being able to set your OOTO message from without Exchange now.

Uh... I think if people know that adding OOTO handling was going to push everything else back, no one would've asked for it!

It took 4 years for one the world's largest software company to make little interface improvements, and become Intel Native.

WHAT... THE... HELL!

It's so infuriated that they would even charge for this product. RAR!

AirTrans sucks

2008-01-29T13:39:00.001-08:00

AirTrans sucks, originally uploaded by joekwon.

AND I got seated so my face is only 12 inches from the engine. Good times.

HD Format Wars

2008-01-18T09:18:00.000-08:00

The news from this year's CES has led a lot of people to believe that there will finally be a winner in the HD format wars.

Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD

It's looking like it will be blu-ray thought it's still not 100%.

Now I'm super glad that finally one format will emerge on top, though it likely won't solidify until 2009, but I'm SUPER disappointed that it's going to be blu-ray.

Why? Because the primary backer of blu-ray is Sony. And Sony DOES NOT have a good track record of backing formats.

Beta Max, Mini-Disc, Hi Mini-Disc, ATRAC3, UMD, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Duo Pro, etc...

They really really suck at it.

They always start a format with extremely limited capabilities, then realize their competition is outpacing them, then they create a new revision of that format rendering the previous version useless.

Sadly, it looks like history will repeat itself with Blu-ray. Let's let ArsTechnica explain to us what a world of hurt we're going to be in if Blu-Ray wins.

1.0 is the launch profile, and secondary audio and video decoders are optional, as is local storage and network connectivity. The majority of standalone players fit into this category.
1.1 is the newer profile, and to take advantage of these discs, players need a secondary audio and video decoder to handle picture-in-picture, as well as at least 256MB of local storage for content.
2.0 is the profile of the future, requiring the two secondary decoders, 1GB of local storage for updates and content, and an Internet connection.

*sigh* It looks like even if Blu-Ray wins early adopters who paid hundreds of dollars on a stand-alone unit lose big time. If you're a PS3 owner, then you'll be okay... maybe.

Clever

2008-01-17T14:07:00.000-08:00

Just in case you missed Apple's Nytimes.com Ad, here it is. Captured it myself with SnapzProX2.

I Fixed a Lamp

2008-01-16T15:21:00.000-08:00

I recently broke my bedside table lamp. I pulled too hard on the string/pull switch and ripped it out. Grace thought it was funny.

In any case, instead of throwing out the $10 ikea lamp, I decided to try and fix it.

And wouldn'tyaknowit, I did.

I mean, I usually fix things like computers, electronics, technology and a little of bit stuff around the house, but there's something satisfying of fixing a simple base device such as a lamp.

It works now, and needless to say, I'm going to be a little more judicious about my light switch pulls.

Big is not always better

2008-01-11T11:37:00.000-08:00

A quick tip to those who care.

Large, High capacity USB Flash drives are slower than smaller ones.

Why? Because high-speed, high capacity memory chips are expensive to make and produce.

Example:
To copy 128 megabytes of data to my 256 megabyte capacity USB drive takes about 1 minute.

To copy that same 128 megabytes of data to my cheap 4,096 megabyte capacity USB drive takes about 4-5 minutes.

There's a reason that 4GB USB drives cost between $25-$80. Bigger is not always better. But I guess bigger and more expensive is.

If you want a good one, choose a Lexar Lightning, it's superfast. But it's not supercheap.

Useless

2008-01-10T12:56:00.001-08:00

Useless, originally uploaded by joekwon.

What good is an "easy open" box if both ends break? Yay for quality.

Spice up your WoW romance with actual words!

2007-12-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Got a secret internet lover in World of Warcraft(For Shame!) but just can't seem to get past emotes and sending each other loot? Well GoogleTalk has something to help you take it to the next level! (Ding! Grats!)

Okay Okay, this isn't just for WoW nerds, it's for everyone wishing to communicate with someone of a different language.

Google has hooked up it's language translation service with Google Talk so you can chat with someone who doesn't speak the same language, and the machine will do it's darndest to try and figure out what you're trying to say to each other.

The instructions are simple, you just need to enter a group chat with you, your international-person-of-mystery friend, and a friendly little bot with the address en2zh@bot.talk.google.com.

Here's how to use other languages besides English2Chinese:

For more languages, just add any of the 29 other translation bots. They're named using two-letter language abbreviations as "[from language]2[to language]@bot.talk.google.com", and the supported language pairs are: ar2en, bg2en, de2en, de2fr, el2en, en2ar, en2de, en2el, en2es, en2fr, en2it, en2ja, en2ko, en2nl, en2ru, en2zh, es2en, fi2en, fr2de, fr2en, hi2en, hr2en, it2en, ja2en, ko2en, nl2en, ru2en, uk2en, ur2en, zh2en. So, for French to German translation, talk to fr2de@bot.talk.google.com.

Apparently this works on GoogleTalk for Blackberry, but I didn't realize group chat was available on the mobile... oh wait, I get it now. Nevermind, I need to learn how to read.

[via Google Talkabout]

Put On Your Tin Foil Hats...

2007-11-28T09:26:00.000-08:00

Google has released a beta of a new feature they have for google maps mobile where it will determine your current position by using cell towers to triangulate your approximate location. (Accuracy is 500-5000 m)

Once you launch Google Maps on your phone, you press 0 to locate your position.

Could be useful if you get lost.

Just go to the following link on your smartphone browser.

http://maps.google.com/gmm/

shhh. they're watching us...

[via GigaOm]

Simply Not Worth It

2007-11-26T09:18:00.000-08:00

Black Friday is just a mess.

What used to be a day of savings has turn into a scam on part of the retailers.

They put out these ads with incredibly low prices on big ticket items and with ultra-tiny fine print indicating "Ticket required", "Only 5 available at this location", and "we hope you don't read this area".

The reality is that it's gotten so bad, that people start lining up at 5pm Thanksgiving day to get the good deals. 5pm! What about Thanksgiving dinner? Geez, retailers have turned shoppers into zombie lunatics attempting to save $100.

Honestly it's just a full out scam. Retailers make you feel like they have some incredible prices, but really the only ones able to get those prices are the crazies who are willing to skip out on Thanksgiving altogether.

So on Friday when you're actually willing to go out and brave the masses, there aren't any deals left except for some $4.99 DVD that nobody wants. The retailers goal is just to get you to the store to make some sort of impulse buy and they've actually not offered anybody a deal on anything.

Seriously people, is saving a few $$$ on some item really worth staying outside in the cold all night long and missing time with loved ones?

The Future of Reading (A Play in Six Acts)

2007-11-21T20:29:00.001-08:00

John Gruber of Daring Fireball fame had linked to this and it is sad but true.

What Amazon is attemping with the Kindle is destroying the spirit of reading a book. The very notion of what Amazon became a giant store for.

Here's Act I to get you started:

Act I: The act of buying

When someone buys a book, they are also buying the right to resell that book, to loan it out, or to even give it away if they want. Everyone understands this.

Jeff Bezos, Open letter to Author’s Guild, 2002

You may not sell, rent, lease, distribute, broadcast, sublicense or otherwise assign any rights to the Digital Content or any portion of it to any third party, and you may not remove any proprietary notices or labels on the Digital Content. In addition, you may not, and you will not encourage, assist or authorize any other person to, bypass, modify, defeat or circumvent security features that protect the Digital Content.

Amazon, Kindle Terms of Service, 2007

http://diveintomark.org/archives/2007/11/19/the-future-of-reading

I'm A Night Elf Mohawk!

2007-11-21T07:37:00.001-08:00

Blizzard has put out a few new commercials for World of Warcraft, and I must say they are pretty funny and actually made me laugh out loud.

That's "LoL" for those who speak internetese.

Ending Song for Portal - Still Alive

2007-11-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

There's a pretty popular new puzzle game out called Portal that's simply amazing. It's FPS style, but there's no enemy blasting. Just puzzle solving. All throughout the game there's an AI voice talking to you that seems a little sinister and evil but you're not quite sure.

When you finally beat the game (it's very short), the AI decides to sing you a song. This song makes me so happy you wouldn't believe.

'njoy

--joe

Music & Lyrics by Jonathon Coulton vocals by GLaDOS (Ellen McLain)

This was a triumph!
I'm making a note here:
"HUGE SUCCESS!!"

It's hard to overstate
my satisfaction.

Aperture Science:
We do what we must
because we can.

For the good of all of us.
Except the ones who are dead.

But there's no sense crying
over every mistake.
You just keep on trying
till you run out of cake.
And the science gets done.
And you make a neat gun
for the people who are
still alive.

I'm not even angry...
I'm being so sincere right now-
Even though you broke my heart,
and killed me.

And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
As they burned it hurt because
I was so happy for you!

Now, these points of data
make a beautiful line.
And we're out of beta.
We're releasing on time!
So I'm glad I got burned-
Think of all the things we learned-
for the people who are
still alive.

Go ahead and leave me...
I think I'd prefer to stay inside...
Maybe you'll find someone else
to help you?
Maybe Black Mesa?
That was a joke! HAHA!! FAT CHANCE!!

Anyway this cake is great!
It's so delicious and moist!

Look at me: still talking
when there's science to do!
When I look out there,
it makes me glad I'm not you.

I've experiments to run.
There is research to be done.
On the people who are
still alive.
And believe me I am
still alive.
I'm doing science and I'm
still alive.
I feel fantastic and I'm
still alive.
While you're dying I'll be
still alive.
And when you're dead I will be
still alive.

Still alive.

Still alive.

Simply Awesome

2007-10-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

I remember going to Chuck-E-Cheese's at the age of 7 and loving the whack a mole game.

Now I can relive my childhood (and simultaneously annoy my co-workers) with this wonderful USB contraption.

[via Engadget]

Ringtones ARE Songs

2007-10-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

I subscribe to about 100+ RSS feeds, and thanks to RSS/News aggregators such as Google Reader, it's really easy to sift thru my news without spending the whole day reading.

There is one in particular RSS feed that is always well written and articulate. His name is John Gruber, and is largely an Apple Fan, however he does so with a very objective. He has an uncanny sense of breaking down business logically and always knows when to BS on any type of business decision that big corporations make.

The latest entry that caught my eye was his Ringtones vs. Songs post. He essentially breaks down why such a distinction is ludicrous to begin with.

In anycase, give it a read.

Worst coffee cup ever

2007-07-25T06:57:00.001-07:00

Worst coffee cup ever, originally uploaded by joekwon.

Jack in the box makes the worst coffee cups. It just leaks out the bottom which I learned the hardway by getting my shirt sleeve soaked. And the coffee sucks too.

Scratch

2007-07-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

Scratch.

Arstechnica is reporting that the brainiacs over at MIT's Lifelong Kindergarten group have created a product to respond to the challenges of teaching children the basic concepts of programming.

It's called Scratch, which features a very visual, drag-n-drop approach to basic programming.

I applaud initiatives such as this, as I feel the concept of programming will become more and more central in the workplace of the future.

Conquering the mountain...

2007-07-21T12:42:00.001-07:00

Conquering the mountain..., originally uploaded by joekwon.

I went mountain biking for the first time ever. Christian (pictured above) the super biker took me up to the Santa Monica mountains and let me tell you... It was awesome. My thighs don't agree with me but it was a lot of fun. Can't wait to go again.

People are not this dumb...

2007-07-21T08:48:00.001-07:00

People are not this dumb..., originally uploaded by joekwon.

Blockbuster is definitely hoping against hope on this one if they think someone will rent this movie by accident.

the Woz

2007-07-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

Craziest thing. I just met Steve Wozniak while waiting for the valet at The Mirage.

Really nice guy and was going to give me his card but he ran out. Anyway I'll update later with a photo.

Oh yeah.if you don't know who Steve Wozniak is he is the co-founder of Apple.

For all you Guitar Hero Fans Out There...

2007-07-13T09:14:00.001-07:00

...Rock Band looks like it's going to rock.

More Than Meets The ... Ear.

2007-04-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

I'm so in like with these headphones...

[via Engadget]

RSS in Plain English

2007-04-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

Man, I've really had a hard time selling the concept of RSS and Readers to people. It saves so much time to centralize where you get your updated information instead of having to go visit each individual site.

Fortunately, somebody made a quick little video to help explain about RSS and how it can work for YOU.

Click To Play

There are two types of Internet users, those that use RSS and those that don't. This video is for the people who could save time using RSS, but don't know where to start.

NO VIDEO GAMES FOUND!

2007-04-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

Damn people. Get over it!

There were NO video games found on the shooter's computer, and on top of that, the shooter's roommate stated that he never saw the shooter play any video games at all.

Check out Chris Matthews interview Jack Thompson.

Jack Thomson once again is riding a tragic event to further his agenda by saying video games create violent people. This is absolutely untrue.

Get over it, video games are not the singular cause of society's ills.

I mean, the way you get ahead in Counter-Strike is by circlestrafing and bunny hopping. Those two techniques are NOT going to make you a more efficient killer in real life.

Read More here:
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/04/19/no-video-games-found-in-vt-shooters-dorm/

poetry

2007-04-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

my wife is coming home today!
woohoo! woohoo!
But she's leaving again tomorrow =(
boohoo! boohoo!

Da 411 ya digg?

2007-04-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

"I gotta post. I gotta post." is the chant I tell myself everyday. However, the reality is that I end up just watching another episode of BattleStar Galactica instead and watching the ensuing battle between the Colonial Fleet and the oh-so-human Cylons.

However, this news is definitely worth mentioning.

Google has released a new service called "Google 411". You call a free 800 number -- read: no exorbitant $1 charge for info -- and say your city, state, then the name of the business you wish to locate.

It'll then return results you can choose from, and not only do they graciously offer to connect you to your selection, they give you the option to have the detailed information txt messaged to your phone.

I tried it this weekend and it worked pretty well. If you don't believe me, listen to this demo of the product.

Dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) to give it a try.

Google 411

Got Time?

2007-02-28T09:39:00.000-08:00

This is simply amazing.

I can only describe such efforts as Calculating AND Creative... AND also complete boredom personified. I don't care how fast you are at manipulating Rubik's Cubes, this has got to take a lot of time.

Rubikubism via [37 Signals - Signal vs. Noise Blog]

Find Missing People with Web 2.0

2007-02-07T12:26:00.000-08:00

Help Find Jim Gray with Web 2.0

Jim Gray is a computer scientist who went sailing on his yacht to scatter his mother's ashes in the ocean, however he never came back.

The Coast performed a search and rescue to no avail, and they gave up.

Enter Amazon and Web 2.0.

Amazon arranged for a satellite sweep of the area, and had the imagery stored on it's servers and utilized their existing services S3 and Mechanical Turk to setup a volunteer based image review system.

People can review satellite imagery to determine if t hey can find his boat and flag it for further review.

This is simply amazing that existing web technologies today can do so much good. This is a prime example of how technology can help out mankind

Conan beats Serena Williams in Tennis... Wii Tennis

2007-02-02T11:05:00.000-08:00

Joystiq is reports of a Conan O'brien episode where he challenges Serena Williams to Wii Tennis.

...

I think that's all I have to say about that.

click "Your house will be built in 24 hours"

2007-01-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

If you haven't seen the blog called "Inhabitat" I suggest you go teleport your digital self over there and take a digital gander. It's a wonderful virtual place where they talk about amazing architecture and creative living space design.

And now they report on the Contour Crafting Robo-builder.

Apparently, 3D printing is being taken to a new scale by a USC professor who has devised a machine that prints buildings out of concrete and gypsum.

There's been a lot of hype, and the possibilities are endless in what you could create with this Robo-builder.

The first actual field test will take place in California in the spring where a house will be printed in 24 hours.

Construction workers, start looking for new jobs.

Here's a video of a miniature prototype.

Hello, Goodbye

2007-01-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

I've always liked Target commercials. Always creative and it inspires me to make a video or something.

Both my wife and I agree the newest commercial is no exception, if not one of the best ones yet. It debuted during the Golden Globes.

What is a strange coincidence is that my co-worker has just begun to educate me in the ways of The Beatles, and this song is a remake of the Beatles song, Hello, Goodbye.

The Target commercial version is performed by Sophia Shorai and unfortunately the is not yet available for purchase anywhere.

If anybody can find it, let me know.

However if you do go to Sophia's website, she has samplings of her music and it actually sounds pretty good.

Why?

2007-01-12T14:11:00.000-08:00

Let me say first, I have a severe dislike for the US cellular provider industry.

I feel like that they charge outrageous rates for their services when in fact there's more bandwidth and more efficient hardware than ever to handle data routing.

For example, Verizon just announced they will be increasing their txt message rates from $0.10 -> $0.15.

That is a 50% increase. 50%.

I'm appalled that providers already charge $0.10 to send AND receive txt messages to begin with. I mean, we are all already on an all-digital network, which is already transmitting digitized audio back and forth which I know is a lot bigger data-wise than a 255 character text message.

What is this? Why are providers pricing such simple and light technology so high?

And now as we progress into 2007, providers increase the rate 50%!

This is the exact opposite of minutes. Overtime providers increase the amount of free minutes because the network is able to handle more. But when it comes to something mystical like text messaging, they increase rates hoping consumers don't notice.

I understand that companies need revenue to survive, but this seriously ripping off the consumer and companies know that we are locked into contracts and can't do anything about it, and even if we could leave, the competitor's prices for txt messaging is almost the same.

It's like they all got together in a secret meeting and price locked txt messaging rates to collective rip off America.

In any case, if this infuriates you half as much as it does me, this could be reason enough to end your contract with Verizon due to their changing of terms beyond your control. So if you're looking to get out, now is the time.

The iPhone I'll Never Have...

2007-01-10T07:38:00.000-08:00

If you've been breathing in the last 24 hours you'll probably know that Apple has just announced the iPhone. Otherwise I'll assume you've been in a coma or don't understand any language known to man.

It's a wonderfully done concept by Apple, actually creating a convergence device that would seem to work. Widescreen iPod capabilities w/ multi-touch screen technology. Internet browsing device. And of course, advanced phone capabilities.

Now i use a Blackberry for work that I don't think I can give up, and unless someone releases an iPhone plugin to allow BES syncing, I'm afraid I'm stuck with my current 8703e or perhaps the upcoming 8800.

But I do want the iPhone to overwhelmingly succeed, and here's why...

Not because I think Apple products are great, which I do since I'm using a MacBook Pro right now, but because I believe the iPhone can be the biggest industry wake-up call in history.

Mobile devices have seen very unimpressive features added over the past few years. Since 2000 we've gotten the following (in no particular order I believe):

1. Txt messaging
2. Color screen
3. Txt trans-carrier txt messaging (being to txt msg on Cingular from your Verizon phone)
4. Camera Phones
5. Picture messaging
6. Trans-carrier picture messaging
7. Video Messaging
8. But still no trans-carrier video messaging.
9. Lame mobile web browsers
10. Games
11. Ringtones, Ring-back Tones, Ring-back-back tones
12. mp3 player

So essentially in 5 years, all we got added to our phones was e-mail with a gimpy color GameBoy wannabe with an mp3 player. All those devices/concepts that have existed way before 2000. Not to mention that using any of those features cost you an arm and a leg if you tend to be prolific user. Why does it cost $0.10 to send and RECEIVE a txt message? I know it doesn't cost that much to route txt messages thru a network, why? Why?~!

Apple has taken a step back and really thought what would be different and incredibly useful to the 21st century mobile device user.

However, it's really lame that it takes innovation from Apple, who has zero presence in the mobile communications device market, to get the rest of the cell phone company veterans to move into the 21st century. There's no reason that an iPhone device couldn't have been made before by someone else.

While I can't have one, I think I'll definitely get one for my wife whom I'm sure will enjoy it.

But I really do hope it rocks the industry, because all other cell phone companies have just been sitting on their butts enjoying the profits of slowly rolling out decade old technology in mobile form and making a fortune off of it.

I hope at this very minute that at the headquarters of Motorola, RIM, Samsung, Nokia, and whoever else are rustling their concept designers to create the iPhone killer.

Happy Ctrl+N Year!

2007-01-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

To all the mac peeps who don't understand Windows-speak, that's Happy Command+N Year!

"Clockless"

2006-12-13T14:11:00.000-08:00

Here is a great article about how Best Buy is employing ROWE to their corporate offices, and soon, to their retail stores.

The concept of ROWE is Results-only Work Environment. Where the employees have no set amount of time to be in the office, they just need to pump out results however they want, wherever want.

The nation's leading electronics retailer has embarked on a radical--if risky--experiment to transform a culture once known for killer hours and herd-riding bosses. The endeavor, called ROWE, for "results-only work environment," seeks to demolish decades-old business dogma that equates physical presence with productivity. The goal at Best Buy is to judge performance on output instead of hours.

This means if you're more comfortable working from home, starbucks, or even at Disneyland, you can!

For all you out there working for the man, check it out. It's a long but good read.

Business Week has the deets.

Clearification

2006-12-08T12:41:00.000-08:00

Microsoft apparently has some sort of trendy advertising campaign associated with the new Windows Vista operating system.

There are 6 episodes on the site, and I've gotten thru 2 and I have NO IDEA how Windows Vista ties into the story, but so far it's pretty hilarious.

If you like chill humor, just navigating the site and listening to guy ramble is funny.

Hi I'm a Christian, Hi I'm a Christ Follower

2006-12-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

The Think Christian blog has posted about the Community Christian Church's parodies of the Get A Mac advertisements highlighting the differences of being a Christian and a Christ Follower.

Not the best writing or execution, but the point is good.

Welcome Back...

2006-12-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

... to you, er, to me too I suppose.

Starting a new job always tends create a large gap in my blog writing. Mainly because I'm constantly panicking to get my job done right.

But things are finally beginning to settle down, but work is definitely challenging and I like that.

A lot of things have happened since I last posted, let's see.

I went to Kauai, the PS3 and Wii launched (and I got a Wii! w00t!), Microsoft launched it's iPod "killer" which is #2 in sales which isn't too bad (#2 behind the iPod), i finally got into more serious photography by getting myself a Nikon D80, and I ran a 10k (if you can call walking the last mile running).

Things are good, life is great, so I'll slowly get back into what I used to do and post about seemingly random stuff that no one cares about.

ya dig? word.

i have a new job

2006-09-07T14:32:00.000-07:00

I turned in my two week resignation here at old compnay, and I'll be joining the Interactive Media team at a new company later this month.

I've been here at old company for almost two years and it's been a wonderful time. I've grown professionally in so many ways, I can't even begin to attempt to put all down.

The Lord has been thoroughly faithful during my time here, and I know he will be continue to be so as I take this next step into my new company.

My title will shift from Senior Web Developer to Technical Strategist. My exact duties are still a bit vague to me, but I know I will be helping put together technical solutions on consultation basis for clients.

My old company is not a place I'm happy to say goodbye to, if anything, I'm very sad that I'm leaving. But no one ever said change was easy, and saying goodbye to a job is not always in spite.

I will miss my old company and the wonderful people there I've worked with.

Run Forest! Run!

2006-08-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

These days I have been training for the Nike Run Hit Remix on Sept 24th.

I HATE running, I really do. But for some reason I feel motivated to try to at least become a beginner runner. Maybe it has to do with the fact that all 4 of my cousins are super atheletes being marathon runners, triathletes, and captain's of Yale's female soccer team.

So in the past 6 weeks, I've run a total of 40+ miles, and lately I've been doing 3 mile runs at the free trainings that Nike offers in various locations. This is all possible by the fancy Nike+ system which is motivated me to get off my behind.

Not bad I must say, it's been fun, and my lovely wife has been running with me and she's been doing a wonderful job of keeping up.

Work lately has been keeping me busy, we launch the 2007 product line this week on the website, so after this week I'll be free once again.

w00tage. Here's a photo of me in my delirium from running and working.

It's finally here

2006-07-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

After 18 months of me complaining and whining, Apple has finally decided to release a wireless version of the Mighty Mouse.

The unique feature of the Mighty Mouse lies in the fact that is only one physical click, but it has sensors on the left/right click areas, so it when it does perform it's one type of click, it'll know if you're trying to left or right click.

Click.

Pretty elegant, but at the sametime a little silly. Oh yeah, instead of a scrollwheel, it has a little 360-degree scroll "ball".

When they first came out with the Mighty Mouse, I was baffled at why they didn't offer a wireless version. I mean, how hard could it be? They already had a wireless Pro mouse that looked the same, just swap out the guts!

But I guess in true Apple fashion, they decided to make us wait for it.

Well it's here now and not only is it wireless via Bluetooth, but it has swapped the optical tracking system with a laser tracking one. Pretty fancy. I'll just have to go pick one up myself now.

[via MacUser]

Net Neutrality

2006-07-21T06:16:00.000-07:00

I don't know what's taken me so long to post about this, but it's high time that I did.

Why is it important for the Net Neutrality Act to be passed?

Because it'll ensure equal opportunity access from all entities on the internet.

Net Neutrality will prohibit telecom companies or giant internet companies to dish out large sums of $$$ for "special" access to guarantee priority for their information to find end users (that's you). Thus preventing a "tiered" internet structure. Premium Level, and second rate level.

If you as an end user aren't paying, let's say Comcast, for their "premiem" level of internet service, your access to certain sites may be significantly slower if not blocked altogether on the second rate level.

It'd be like if McDonalds paid cities to build nice maintained roads to their restaurants, and the city left the road to Burger King full of potholes. If I wanted Burger King, I could technically still get there, but it'd be a whole lot more painful for me to do so.

Jon Stewart and John Hodgman ("Hi, I'm a PC") provide a great analogy of what this looks like.

In anycase I don't know why anyone would be opposed to this act, well except telecom companies of course who see a money making opportunity, as it guarantees a fair and level playing field on the Internet. I mean, companies like Yahoo! and Google came to notoriety from obscurity thanks to the fair access of the Internet. By letting telecoms have their way would prevent future Yahoo!s and Googles from ever being successful.

Apparently, some Senator from Alaska is seriously against the Net Neutrality Act. Why? Telecom payoffs? All I know is, if Telecom companies are going to pay off public officials for their own greedy needs, they really need to choose someone who actually knows what they are talking about.

Jon Stewart shares my sentiment.

Just wanna say...

2006-07-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

...that the mass media is VERY selective on how they portray "fun-to-bash" popular places topics such as Myspace and Video Games.

I'd like to point out that not all video games will suck the soul out of your child, present it to the devil in return for a loyal gamer populace.

First, a primer for those of you who are not in the know.

World of Warcraft is an immersive massive multi-player online game, where community is encouraged and fostered in the form of guilds. And these guilds aren't put together for the primary goal of snubbing their nose at lesser players, but often times designed to help people out.

In a story that will probably never see the light of day on a major news show, a World of Warcraft guild raises money to help out one of their members from tragedy as that member discovers he has cancer and lost his job so he can't support his family.

Here's a small excerpt since I know most of you won't click on the link to read the whole thing:

3 months out of chemo I type to you all here and now, 3 months I have tried to heal as fast as I could, learn to walk and type, and get a new job which I just started today making a good salary. But I could not have done this without the support of many people, here in World of Warcraft.

When the state, charities, governor, news agencies, senators and even the president of the united states did not respond to my familys pleas for help to keep a roof over our head, help to keep the power company from shutting us off from a $1,500 power bill and keep food on the table for my kids while we incurred expenses of me missing work, my Guild stepped up.

In partially related news, MSN Games is teaming up with YWCA to offer online gamers to donate to programs that benefit the YWCA. [Clicknicity]

[Via Kotaku (yeah I know again, stop thinking you're so sharp)]

For all you Nintendo DS Lite users out there

2006-07-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

The DS Lite Opera Web Browser.

Obvious uses to me are checking e-mail on the couch in between rounds of Mario Kart DS, but with more and more McDonald's offering free WiFi for Nintendo DS machines, the DS Lite + Opera Web Browser becomes a viable alternative to a laptop when you're on a roadtrip. Check e-mail, directions, and basic information while gording yourself with those wonderful, wonderful, succulent super-sized fries. mmmm... grease... *drool*

Supposedly coming Christmas this year.

[via Kotaku]

Anonymous aka "Grace Abounds"

2006-07-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

By Danny & Aaron

Metamorphosis

2006-07-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

So lately, I've been reading Steve Pavlina's blog on self-development. His blog is dedicated to all kinds of stuff related to, uh..., self development. From positive thinking, to polyphasic sleep tactics, he has a lot to say about his experience on trying to maximize his effectiveness as a person.

A lot of the articles are inspiring if you're anything like me, a lazy slob with more bad habits than Agent Smith clones. I suck at a lot of stuff, especially getting up at a respectable time, so I decided that it's high time I kicked my booty into gear and do something about it.

After reading the two part article on How to Become An Early Riser, the realization set in that I'm losing hundreds of waking hours per year by finding imaginative and creative excuses to keep pressing the snooze button. (I usually get up 1 hour after my alarm goes off, snooze x6 baby!) If I just get up 1 hour earliar than I usually do, that's an extra 365 hours I have a year!

Fortunately, my best man Jason, also is a sucker for pain and self-development, so we decided on a small wager to get us motivated to begin our metamorphosis into Early Riser--dom, er -hood, er -nicity.

Here are the rules:

Wake up everyday before 5:30am.
Notify each other of time of wake up via e-mail.
You have to STAY up and cannot go back to sleep after you wake up.
Less than 30min naps are allowed ONLY in the afternoons. No napping in the morning.
If you doze off in your chair, it must be unintentional, and less than 5 minutes.

Everytime a rule is violated, that's -1 for the violator. Person with least amount of violations at the end of our bet, wins.

The rest is up to us. We go by the honor system. The goal is to develop a habit of getting up earliar at a consistent rate, no more, no less. Well, except for the stakes.

So far, it's been over a week since we started, and let me tell you. It is not easy. I haven't slept in yet, I've gotten up everyday before 5:30am (usually 5am), and have been thus far able to not violate any rules.

Even within the first days I began to see the miraculous benefits of being an early riser.

Things I've done in the morning:

All my bills
Any freelance work I normally would stay up late doing
Made breakfast for my wife
Quiet Times

I'm liking my metamorphosis so far, I may tweak the rising time after the bet. We'll see. But I'll keep you posted.

Happy Birthday...

2006-06-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

...to my beautiful and lovely wife.

I thank the Lord for the day she was born.