Rainbow computer

A co-worker had her Mac display go nuts a couple of months ago …

Stress is violence

Saw this great quote today:

The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is to succumb to violence. More than that, it is cooperation with violence. The frenzy of the activist neutralizes his work for peace. It destroys his inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of his own work because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.

– Thomas Merton

Apple: US-CANADA price discrepancies

I recently had to pick up the Apple QuickTime MPEG-2 playback add-on. Since I’m Canadian, I paid $30 … while the US price is $19.95.

This is somewhat annoying, given that $20 US is actually worth only $19.60 Canadian today.

Leaked!

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early

mini-blogging

Thanks to an extremely generous brother-in-law, I’m blogging this from my new iPod touch.

Far, far, far too cool.

Of course, I quickly picked up the $20 extra apps package from Apple, which really makes this useable as a mobile platform …

Well, enough for now.

I’m super-happy with the Touch, but I’m not going to start writing novels on a touchscreen.

Sony DSC-T200 cable is WAY too big!

David and Goliath

Originally uploaded by johnkoetsier

Help – my cable is bigger than my camera!

I must, must, must find a smaller cable than the monstrosity that Sony is shipping with all its cameras lately. Some MBA-type decided it would be easier to ship one cable that connects to both TVs and computers than a purpose-built cable for each … or, better, yet, just ONE cable for computers, which is what 99% of people need.

So, now I have a cable that is bigger than my camera, and a significant obstacle to its useful portability on multi-day trips.

Anyone know of a smaller after-market cable?

Jamieson Vitamin F

???

Originally uploaded by johnkoetsier

I simply cannot believe how some vitamin companies continue to create deceptive packaging. Essentially, they’re lying with their bottles.

In this case, here’s a bottle of Jaimieson vitamin D that my wife picked up this week. I opened it today, shook one pill into my hand, and then looked inside.

I had to look deep to catch a glimpse of the small pile of lonely pills at the extreme bottom of the bottle.

The discrepancy between the size of the bottle and the amount of vitamin inside it was so large I took them all out, put them beside the bottle on a side table, and took a picture. Click on the picture to see a larger version.

A couple of thoughts:

• this is a waste of packaging – there’s more plastic in the bottle than required
• which results in a waste of fuel in shipping, as Jaimieson ships a lot of air all over the world (which appears to contravene their environmental standards)
  
• and it’s essentially a lie … a bottle that looks a certain size as you’re buying it, but delivers a fraction of that amount of product.

I think we all understand these days that packaging sells. I think we also have a right to assume that packaging does not also magically make 100 tablets look like 1000.

Companies that fail this test deserve an F for truthfulness, and an F for integrity.

Takes all kinds …

I tell you, I get the weirdest email sometimes …

This one was in response to my Sony camcorder & Mac OS X: Not happy together? post from a year or so ago.

i saw your blog about about the mac and sony cam! I am the victim of samsung not connecting with mac! kinda like pam anderson and kid rock! it sort of works but not the full throatle

anywho sorry to bother you i am sure you are busy! My problem i bought my cam yesterday from compusa which is going out of buisness so all sales are final!

now i think i can take it back raising h*ll in a calm way! i would even take a credit and buy something i can use! but i did drop 230 bucks so i am pissed not break a nail pissed I cant sleep at night pissed, because i was wrong

anywho why this random email well is apple coming out with a new usb chord?

you seem like you know yo sh*t and frankly i am a new user to apple just bought the imac beast 2 days ago!

take care!

mary

More power to you, Mary. Hope everything worked out OK – and thanks for brightening my day with your email!

Sir Edmund Hilary

Sir Edmund Hilary

Originally uploaded by johnkoetsier

This is Ethan on Sunday earlier this week, climbing on park equipment.

We’ve been having wonderful weather lately … sunny, warm, clear.

I’m hoping it lasts!

Don’t terminate Sarah Conner Chronicles!

Terminator, the Sarah Conner Chronicles, is just about the first TV show that has become must-see-TV for me in the past couple of years (besides a few shows I watch with my wife, such as Survivor and Amazing Race).

Now I hear that it’s in danger of being canceled.

What?!?

Sarah Conner Chronicles is a great show with amazing production values, good plots, and good acting. I hope hope hope that it pulls through.

Someone needs to start a “Save the Terminator” campaign.

. . .
. . .

Sign the petition
OK, that someone is me: go here to sign the petition to keep the terminator terminating!

Link exchanges are so 1997

UPDATE Feb 21: pls note Trisha’s gracious reply below …

I can’t believe believe people are still sending out link exchange requests:

Hello,

Recently I contacted you regarding a link exchange request. I was hoping that you’ve had the time to review this request and consider my proposal. We are developing a reciprocal link area on our website and would be happy to trade text links with your website. You links will be on the PsPrint.com website, although we are not entirely sure where at this point in the project.

Please let me know if you are interested in discussing this further. You can contact me at trisha@psprint.com or 510.224.2106. If you are not interested in a link exchange, please let me know and I will discontinue contacting you regarding this matter. Thank you for your time.

Trisha Fawver
Marketing Manager
PsPrint.com
510.224.2106
Create. Print. Mail. Faster.

This is now the third email I’ve gotten from Trisha, which is starting to approach spammishness. Note the veiled threat in this statement:

If you are not interested in a link exchange, please let me know and I will discontinue contacting you regarding this matter.

In other words, I’ll continue to receive unsolicited emails until I say yes or until I waste my time composing an email saying no.

2000-year-old computer

Now this is amazing … a mechanical computer from 65 BC with differential gears.

Reminds me of a Difference Engine …

Famous last words

I don’t know where I found the link – probably popURLs – to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website, where you can read the last statements of executed prisoners.

I find it amazing how many have obviously had jailhouse conversions and call on God to forgive them and receive them home. It’s also remarkable how many have accepted their convictions, have accepted responsibility for what they’ve done, and ask forgiveness from the families of those they’ve injured or killed.

Well worth a quick read … as the Persian poet Hafez said: “When you are happy, go to a cemetery and remember that you will one day be there. When you are sad, go to a cemetery and be happy that you are not.”

On deficit financing …

Today, this seems like a very un-American thought:

“I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.”

- Thomas Jefferson

I could not agree more. Worse than swindling, it’s living off the backs of your children … which is disgraceful.

Our student agenda in Today’s Parent

Just found out today that the November 2007 Today’s Parent had a story by Helaine Becker on one of my company’s products.

I’m the director of product development at Premier, and we make student agendas – planners for kids in K-12 and higher education.

It’s always cool when people are talking about you, and the article was a lot of fun to read … I can totally relate to the challenges of being organized enough to model great behavior for your kids.

I just wish I had seen it earlier!