Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
This might be my new favorite blog: http://bit.ly/3CxVqg Now I just need to find one about unnecessary apostrophes.
Unnecessary apostrophes are one of my largest pet peeves.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Eating a Katie's brownie sundae. For the first time ever, someone was impressed with my 1998 maxima.
...it was the kid working the window at the ice cream place :-). I told him it had 200k miles on it, then I don't think he was as impressed.
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Is anyone else working on their Personal MBA?
I've often thought about getting my MBA. But the timing has never been right. Now, I'm working on my Personal MBA. They are correct that you can learn and retain all the skills you'd get from an MBA in the workforce as well as from reading. I'm committed to reading one non-fiction book per month anyway, so I'm starting to work down their list. Check out their manifesto to see all the details.
http://personalmba.com
http://personalmba.com
Monday, July 20, 2009
The importance of delayed gratification
The article below is a great read. It just proves that the "I want it now" mentality that so many of us have will not pay off in the long run. Delaying gratification will ultimately result in more satisfaction.
http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2009/05/delayed_gratificatio.html
http://www.mindhacks.com/blog/2009/05/delayed_gratificatio.html
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Effective non-fiction reading techniques
Great little article. I love the part about never reading a book through from cover to cover. I always thought that was cheating!
http://www.si.umich.edu/~pne/PDF/howtoread.pdf
http://www.si.umich.edu/~pne/PDF/howtoread.pdf
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Quote of the day/year: Don't do anything for money that you wouldn't do for free (Regarding your career/life)
From Leader Mentoring, by Michael Shenkman
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
At $6.5 Billion, Facebook is Now Worth More than CBS
This is pretty crazy, just shows the power of the internet and social media. Looks like Facebook is the next Google.
http://mashable.com/2009/07/13/facebook-65-billion-valuation/
http://mashable.com/2009/07/13/facebook-65-billion-valuation/
Ok, let's try this for the pictures
Looks like posterous doesn't like in-email pictures for some reason.
A little weekend project. I think it turned out really well!
So our oven went belly-up a few weeks ago. I've been shopping around and it turned out a built-in wall oven was going to cost about twice as much as a much more desirable free-standing oven/cooktop unit. We also wanted a spot for our microwave and there was some wasted space below the oven. So we decided it was time for a little project. My friend Brian has a friend who is really good with this kind of stuff so we set out on a little project. To be honest, I mostly just drove back and forth to Home Depot while Ernesto did the real work. I did do the painting and a little electrical though.
Here's the before:
And After:
All in all we're really happy with how it turned out. There was quite an electrical mess (exposed 220 wire) as well so re probably averted some kind of fire or explosion.
Here's the before:
And After:
All in all we're really happy with how it turned out. There was quite an electrical mess (exposed 220 wire) as well so re probably averted some kind of fire or explosion.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Wrapping up for the day. Did a small kitchen remodel. All that's left is painting.
Special thanks to Brian Claus and Ernesto and Luis Serrano! Pics to come after the paint!
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
Awesome fathers day gift
So I have an awesome wifw and for fathers day she got me an incredible gift: a professional lawn mowing. So this week after getting back from vacation I took advantage of it
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
Friday, July 10, 2009
My new setup at the office
2 Dell g2410 24" widescreen monitors, plus an old laptop to display our help desk stats. The logitech VX Nano mouse is also really nice.
Sent from my iPhone
Thursday, July 9, 2009
HD Handheld Cameras - My experience with Flip Mino vs. Creative Vado
I thought it might be helpful for some if I share my experience with the handheld video cameras I've had over the past couple of months.
I initially saw some small HD camcorders a few months ago, and after researching, I was still undecided between the Flip Mino HD and the Creative Vado HD.
Mino:
Vado:
Looking at the features of each, you definitely see some differences, but as far as video quality, most of the reviews said the Mino was a little better.
Well, the initial choice for me came down to availability. I forgot our traditional video camera when we left for our vacation, so we decided to stop at Best Buy to pick up a video camera since we were already planning on getting one. Guess what? We got the very last Flip Mino HD.
I started using it and absolutely loved it. It takes great quality videos in usable format and it's incredibly easy to carry in your pocket, pull it out, and shoot some video on the fly. Then, just plug it in to your computer and download the videos, upload to youtube, whatever. It's quick and simple.
We used the camera for 2 vacations.
You may be able to guess where this is going.
After the 2nd vacation, I had it plugged in to my computer to charge it. I left it there charging and a few minutes later my baby girl comes running in and instead of the lovely picture above, it looks something like:
Yes. Sad day in the Hoppe house. Anyway, I know it's my fault for leaving it there and my 2 year old is not to blame. I even thought of the possibility of that happening before I left the room but never thought better of it. I could still take videos, but I couldn't charge it or get the videos off, so there wasn't much we could do there. This is what I call "stupid tax".
So we decided this time to order the Vado. I was able to order it off amazon for almost $100 cheaper than I bought the Flip for at the store. Check.
I got the Vado overnighted, and it arrived right before we left for our July 4th trip. Can I just say that everything about this camera is better. Not only do I notice no difference in the video quality, it has almost every feature that was lacking in the Mino:
* Rubberized plastic case - check (flip is glossy plastic that scratches easily)
* MUCH larger screen
* HDMI out (rather than just a 1/8" video out)
* Removable battery
* TWICE the storage space (holds over 2 hours as opposed to 1 hour)
* And here's the kicker: a FLEXIBLE connection that won't collapse like a wet noodle under pressure
* It also comes with a usb extender cable - extra protection against bricking the unit
* AND a silicone case to protect it
Can you tell which one I like more? Yes, I am a little bitter at the Flip but I think all in all the Vado has many more features and at a better price.
note: I do have a support ticket in with Flip to see if they'll do anything for me on the broken connection.
I initially saw some small HD camcorders a few months ago, and after researching, I was still undecided between the Flip Mino HD and the Creative Vado HD.
Mino:
Vado:
Looking at the features of each, you definitely see some differences, but as far as video quality, most of the reviews said the Mino was a little better.
Well, the initial choice for me came down to availability. I forgot our traditional video camera when we left for our vacation, so we decided to stop at Best Buy to pick up a video camera since we were already planning on getting one. Guess what? We got the very last Flip Mino HD.
I started using it and absolutely loved it. It takes great quality videos in usable format and it's incredibly easy to carry in your pocket, pull it out, and shoot some video on the fly. Then, just plug it in to your computer and download the videos, upload to youtube, whatever. It's quick and simple.
We used the camera for 2 vacations.
You may be able to guess where this is going.
After the 2nd vacation, I had it plugged in to my computer to charge it. I left it there charging and a few minutes later my baby girl comes running in and instead of the lovely picture above, it looks something like:
Yes. Sad day in the Hoppe house. Anyway, I know it's my fault for leaving it there and my 2 year old is not to blame. I even thought of the possibility of that happening before I left the room but never thought better of it. I could still take videos, but I couldn't charge it or get the videos off, so there wasn't much we could do there. This is what I call "stupid tax".
So we decided this time to order the Vado. I was able to order it off amazon for almost $100 cheaper than I bought the Flip for at the store. Check.
I got the Vado overnighted, and it arrived right before we left for our July 4th trip. Can I just say that everything about this camera is better. Not only do I notice no difference in the video quality, it has almost every feature that was lacking in the Mino:
* Rubberized plastic case - check (flip is glossy plastic that scratches easily)
* MUCH larger screen
* HDMI out (rather than just a 1/8" video out)
* Removable battery
* TWICE the storage space (holds over 2 hours as opposed to 1 hour)
* And here's the kicker: a FLEXIBLE connection that won't collapse like a wet noodle under pressure
* It also comes with a usb extender cable - extra protection against bricking the unit
* AND a silicone case to protect it
Can you tell which one I like more? Yes, I am a little bitter at the Flip but I think all in all the Vado has many more features and at a better price.
note: I do have a support ticket in with Flip to see if they'll do anything for me on the broken connection.
Google Maps Location Finder Pinpoints You in Chrome and Firefox
This is a little scary even. How do they know? http://tinyurl.com/n9jbzh
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The ace hardware store sign just said it was 122 degrees
Not that it's actually that hot (it's actually 100). It's just humorous!
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
It's been on the radar for quite some time, but it's now officially here
Google is entering the operating system market. They'll be competing head-to-head with windows in the operating system space and working to introduce a browser that will be very web-centric as well as virus, spyware, and malware free. Looks like we'll see the first release in 2010.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html
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