Living with the me...

Metro Haiku: Don’t sleep like that

2011-05-20T01:01:36Z

You, in grey sweat shirt
Slumping forward to catch z’s
Somethings gonna hurt

brb

2011-01-12T08:35:26Z

Life intervenes…pics and videos of the cr-48 coming soon. Promise.

Links for 2010-12-28 [del.icio.us]

2010-12-29T00:00:00-08:00

How to build your own router

The whole thing

2010-12-24T14:55:23Z

I don’t want to spend too much time on the hardware but then again it does give us a sense of possibilities in the future. This particular netbook won’t go to market…it’s just for testing. Of course, there’s little changes here that suggest Google wants manufacturers to rethink some things.

Form I’ve been eyeing netbooks for a while. They were a hot item for 5 minutes and I secretly lusted after them. The problem, most of them were either too small or poorly made. The cr-48 is very nicely sized and solid. The matte black finish is a nice touch and the whole thing has a…um…grippy feel. The form factor has been great so far. I’ve scooped up the cr-48 to take into meetings, I toss it on the bed when I get ready in the morning, it’s light and durable and follows me around like a puppy. It’s not so small I have to hunch over to get a good look at the screen and it’s not big enough to ever be inconvenient.

Keyboard Google is making a bit of a statement with this little thing. There seemed to be a collective gasp when the world was told there is no Caps Lock key. Of all the things to gasp about…really? There’s still two Shifts for your capitalization needs…fear not loud talker. The Caps Lock key has been replaced with a search key. One big button away from Google’s bread and butter. Google also abolished the Function keys. No more F1-F12…which, really, why did that take so long? They were never used except when you had to hit a Fn button to get the function you wanted to function. Silly. The keys are there but they are all single purpose…Forward, Back, Reload, Fullscreen, Next Window, Dimmer, Brighter, Mute, Quieter, Louder, Power. Convenient they are.

Trackpad I’ve read a lot of people griping about this one and it’s my only real gripe as well (so far). The trackpad is large, multi-touch enabled and buttonless…just like your…never mind. It would seem I’m partial to buttons. I’m used to holding a button with the thumb while dragging with my pointer finger…it’s just how I do. Maybe I’ll get used to it but that’s not the biggest problem with the pad. The multi-touch scrolling (2 fingers) is less responsive than you would like. This will undoubtedly get fixed up with a firmware upgrade so I’ll just whine about it until then.

Camera I haven’t done enough with the camera to say anything informed about it. When you first setup the machine it asks to take your picture for your user account. A nice touch but don’t set it up first thing in the morning (so far you can’t change your login pic but I’ve heard that’s coming in an update)

Mic As with the camera I haven’t had much time to play with the mic. So keep your rss feed refreshing for that exciting update.

Generally I like this little thing. I’m anxious for some offline abilities that they swear will become available. The built in 3g modem is handy but I’m not yet ready to give Verizon more money…maybe that will change if I can truly make this a full-time machine. I’ll be uploading pics to go along with all these bits I Talked about but for now you get text.

cr-48

2010-12-21T01:38:05Z

Imagine my surprise. Google announced their ChromeOS project a while back. Everyone was starting to wonder when/if anything would come of it. Android has been making headlines and there didn’t seem to be room for this “weird” web-only platform. Well, as we all know now, ChromeOS is coming whether you think it should or not.

Two weeks ago the Google held an event where they would show off their new-ish creation. (new-ish because it’s essentially the Chrome browser with some extra bits bolted on). They also had their Oprah moment in which they told everyone attending the demo that they would get a netbook with ChromeOS on it and Google only asked for feedback in return. It went further…those who had asked for free ChrimeOS stickers a while back were not only getting their stickers but they too would get a netbook. Ooooo. Because Google has Scrooge McDuck amounts of cash they also told us, the home viewer, to go to a website and fill out a survey. A bunch of people would be picked from that and they too would get the new toy.

Imagine my surprise.

When I get home last week, Wednesday, and a box shaped not unlike a box you would ship a netbook in was propped against my door. I honestly didn’t think anything of it. I actually thought the gf had a Christmas present shipped and I shouldn’t open it for fear of ruining Christmas. She was already on the East coast so I had to wait ’til morning to call and make sure I wasn’t ruining some gigantic surprise. Well, morning came and the only thing I did was clearly delay a surprise….for a cr-48 (named for an unstable isotope of Chromium…see, Google is made of nerds) was sitting in the netbook shaped box and I was very smiley that morning.

That about brings us up to speed. I’ll keep posting as to my experience with the little bugger. This will help me give Google some sort of cohesive feedback since I’ll have to form complete thoughts…something longer than 140 characters if you catch my meaning. You do.

â€œYou people have ruined me. Thank you.â€

2010-12-21T01:26:01Z

Note: I meant to post this a loooong time ago. I marked it as a draft and forgot about it…oops.

It’s really tricky to explain the return from the playa to people. They usually roll their eyes when you talk about decompressing or how different the default world is. I’m no good with the words…if you’ve read anything here you know that…So I have to rely on other people who can make sense of these things and present it to a general audience. So thanks to this Michael character who wrapped up the return experience and the thing we strive for in a far better way than I ever could…

â€œYou people have ruined me. Thank you.â€ | Everything is Everything.

Links for 2010-11-10 [del.icio.us]

2010-11-11T00:00:00-08:00

The Best QR Code Generators
A nice list of QR code generators

Links for 2010-09-26 [del.icio.us]

2010-09-27T00:00:00-07:00

Guide to Rooting 2.2 for Windows and Linux - Android Forums

Links for 2010-06-09 [del.icio.us]

2010-06-10T00:00:00-07:00

Tor: Android Instructions

Links for 2010-04-29 [del.icio.us]

2010-04-30T00:00:00-07:00

Open metaverse Viewer

Links for 2010-04-28 [del.icio.us]

2010-04-29T00:00:00-07:00

Using Virtualbox with an Existing Windows Partition
Excellent how-to in getting a physical Windows partition to boot in Virtual Box

Links for 2010-04-02 [del.icio.us]

2010-04-03T00:00:00-07:00

Build Web applications with HTML 5

Gov 2.0 LA – Day 2 Begins

2010-02-07T17:18:33Z

Kicking off day 2 with coffee and bagel. I’m early enough that I’ve snagged an IP address and hopefully I’ll keep it while I’m here. I’ll be updating the Gov20la Wave all day.

Gov 2.0 LA – OpenNASA/OpenGov

2010-02-07T18:54:09Z

Megan Eskey, Web Manager at NASA/Ames Research Center presented her vision for what a more open NASA and open government in general could look like. The Obama Administration released the Open Government Directive in December (I had no idea) and all gov orgs are to have a /open site launched by this Monday! Not too shabby…NASA’s will be http://www.nasa.gov/open. You should be able to find it for any gov org with a web presence. I’m hoping this is the beginning of actual, easy access to the information that we technically own already. The goal for all of these sites is that they’ll facilitate collaboration, participation and openness.

NASA is using Life Ray (haven’t looked into that one) for their social platform. It’s open and should allow plenty of data sharing from NASA and from the public. I really hope this works out and the agencies keep the momentum on this. I can imagine there are more than a few gov’t officials who aren’t all that keen on openness and transparency. There are a few sites keeping track of the various efforts and, in fact, a Gov 2.0 LA ~~attendee~~ remote attendee (see Tim’s comment below) has used the tubes (and Yahoo pipes) to aggregate this info http://www.intellitics.com/blog/2010/02/06/opengov-open-feedback-firehose/.

Currently we can all visit http://people.opennasa.com for a glimpse of what’s available now..though, really, the nasa.gov/open site is up so perhaps the content has been duplicated.

If you work for a gov org (or any org I suppose) here’s a slide deck with steps for setting up your own open site: http://www.slideshare.net/meskey/opennasa-screenshots

If all of this is handled properly we (the people) should have our data available to us on any of our devices running any platform in perpetuity, across universes, etc…Of course, it’s up to us to keep the pressure on the folks we elected. We certainly can’t leave them to their own devices…we know what happens then.

Gov 2.0 LA – Transforming Transportation

2010-02-07T02:16:54Z

I showed up at Blankspaces shortly after lunch and in the midst of the Language Standards lunch time presentation. I was mostly getting situated and couldn’t really get the gist of what was going on with this pres. Next up, Transforming Transportation with Ted Nguyen from the Orange County Transportation Authority.

He had some great things to say about how they’ve used social media tools to enhance the OCTA’s relationship with its riders. Twitter, Facebook, etc. The important point he made wasn’t that they were using these tools but that they were USING the tools. He may respond to a tweet at 11pm. Well after typical gov’t working hours. This touches a much bigger issue about our relationship with our work/jobs but the point is that the citizen doesn’t exist solely between 9a and 5p. Gov’t should be a 24/7 operation and it will take a major shift to make that happen.

In starting up with their usage of social tools Ted didn’t ask the OCTA if he could. He just did and then presented the results to the org in an effort to expand their use. It worked and that’s how it should work in any org. Individuals will be met with resistance in presenting new ideas but present results with the idea and you’ll have a better chance at changing how your org interfaces with the public/clients.

Unfortunately the whole hour was mostly about how the OCTA has had success with these tools. That’s good news but I was hoping for a more rounded and wider reaching discussion on improving public transpo especially in LA. Perhaps we could setup a whole unconference just for transportation issues…

Gov 2.0 LA

2010-02-07T02:17:35Z

It’s the end of day 1 of the first Gov 2.0 LA unconference and I must say the organizers did a great job of pulling various folks from various parts of the citizenry. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. Would it be just like a BarCamp? Would it be more like…oh, I dunno…any event with a bunch of politicians in a room? A pleasant blend of the two? Fortunately is was BarCampish with a set schedule and, as I mentioned, a great mix of people.

Unfortunately I couldn’t make it in the morning but I did catch the live stream (thanks TechZulu!) and I watched Cory Ondrejka deliver a great presentation on the necessity for organizations to be more nimble or face irrelevance. Aptly titled, Agile or Dead. When he gets his slides up I’ll link to them here.

I missed the second presentation as I was getting things done around the house but then it was time to hop the bus and head over to Blankspaces to take in the unconference action in person.

The Virtual Among Us

2010-01-19T03:27:21Z

I finally have something to say that won’t fit in 140 characters. Ever since my first foray into virtual worlds I’ve taken a bit harassing from friends and strangers alike. I’m not alone. There’s quite a bit of eyebrow raising when you start talking to people about a world that only “exists” on a stack of servers. It’s caused me a lot of thinking. Dangerous, dangerous thinking. Initial reactions to any talk of a virtual world illicit responses of “Why don’t you just hang out with real people?” or “Isn’t it weird that it’s all fake?” or something to that effect. It can get more hostile but it rarely does.

These sorts of comments push me to ponder the “real” vs. the virtual. Most virtual worlds are populated with actual people who are logged in, controlling an avatar. The world might look like a video game but in most cases it’s not. (WOW and such not withstanding) It’s a rendered “place” and it’s intangible but the interactions are real even if the stuff isn’t. If we take a minute to stop and think we, as humans, seem to surround ourselves in all sorts of things that aren’t “real.” Here’s a short list…

Money
Government
Borders (not the book store, c’mon)
Religion
Laws
…

You might have just chuckled…but let’s think it out. Money used to be real. It was based on a certain amount of gold (here in the US) and the perceived value of that gold. (perceived value also being virtual but we’ll let it go) Now, money works because we’ve all agreed the gov’t can tell us what it’s worth. This gets a little more tenuous since government is entirely created and made up, basically, as we go along. If we all decided the President wasn’t in charge any more, he wouldn’t be. It would take an astounding organization of the public but I think you get what I’m saying. And yeah, I’m over simplifying but not absurdly so. What’s next? Borders…I’ve been to the border of states and countries. There’s nothing there. Oh sure, we put up a fence or a gate here and there but you can move a couple of miles in either direction and there’s nothing. At some point, someone decided to draw a line on a map and that line is transferred to reality…sort of. As a matter of fact, borders are MORE real in a virtual world…if you cross a border in some places your data is moving between physical servers. The border exists as a limit to the space on an actual machine. Do I have to go into religion? No? Good. Laws go with government…if you cross an imaginary border the laws you were held to become arbitrary and you’re supposed to follow new ones. They’re all made up, they’re virtual.

Here we are in the physical world living our lives for and by virtual concepts. For the most part we haven’t much choice. If we are to exist in a society we kinda have to go along with the majority if we want any sort of comfortable life. I just ask that we think twice before commenting on the virtual gathering I’m attending in a virtual space where I might use a virtual currency to buy something because stealing it would be against the virtual laws of that virtual space…