Cafe Arcane

The Age of Wood… or When Lignin Ruled the Earth

Mystech — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:34:41 +0000

The other day a friend on Google+ posted on how cool it would be if we could grow carbon fiber stuff out of the atmosphere “since we have all of this additional carbon (dioxide) in the atmosphere”. I jokingly replied “We used to have an elementary form of this, it was called wood” another friend ...

Free DropBox Space for Photos and Video

Mystech — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:15:12 +0000

If you take a lot of pictures and video on your Android device, DropBox is giving away a nice chunk of space for those willing to install and use their Beta client. Here’s how it works: Install the beta client on your Android device and take a picture. You’ll get a free 500mb of additional ...

Site Issues

Mystech — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:38:37 +0000

Looks like my choice of permalinks settings (those prettified urls structures) is causing some issues with older articles. I am aware of the situation and will find a resolution as soon as possible. Apologies for any difficulties you may have accessing older articles on the site in the short term. UPDATE: With some minor adjustments ...

Wallpaper for Android Tablets

Mystech — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:35:37 +0000

While you can theoretically make almost any image on your Android tablet into wallpaper for your device, obviously resolution, original quality and aspect ratio is going to affect just how good (or bad) it looks. The following is a quick summary of the best practices for Android Tablet wallpaper, with specific emphasis on devices like ...

Virtual Bike Update…. Nashville Bound

Mystech — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:32:52 +0000

The virtual cycling exercise program has been updated to include all mileage up until last night. It has been one month and my nightly mileage has reached 15 miles. This isn’t a particularly large number but I am restricting myself to 30 minutes. After a week at this rate, I’ll probably have to increase the ...

Three Bullets in the Foot – What’s Up With Twitter

Mystech — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:18:48 +0000

I’m going to just come out and say I think Twitter is really flailing for relevance and, indeed, a future. Sandwiched between Facebook’s existing social presence and Google’s “slumbering dragon awakening”, I think it is time to seriously consider their future. In particularly, three big choices they’ve made stand out to me as warnings signs ...

Weekly Amusement Courtesy of Amazon’s “Hot Releases” News Feeds

Mystech — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:39:22 +0000

I get some much amusement out of the strangeness that flows into my newsreader via Amazon’s hot releases that I think this just may become a regular column at the Cafe. (IMHO) The best stuff comes from Amazon’s Industrial & Scientific products. Sometimes, I can fathom what Amazon’s algorithm is doing to match me to these items, other times the logic ...

My Entirely Too Long List of Apps for Android Tablets, Part 2

Mystech — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:47:35 +0000

This is part two of my My Entirely Too Long List of Apps for Android Tablets article which was inspired by Meg who is a new member of the Android Legion with her Galaxy Tablet. In the first part, I offered my favorite Productivity, Security, Communication and Information apps. In this part, I’m sharing my favorite apps in the Entertainment, ...

My Entirely Too Long List of Apps for Android Tablets, Part 1

Mystech — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:19:49 +0000

This two-part article was inspired by Meg who is a new member of the Android Legion with her Galaxy Tablet. She’s asked her friends and associates to share their app recommendations to help get her started. I’m going to issue some disclaimers before I share the top apps I currently use. I’m probably not the ...

SOPA/PIPA The Day After

Mystech — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:08:44 +0000

Thanks to those that participating and publicized yesterday’s statement on the dangers of internet restriction and censorship. Although a lot of progress was made and attention raised, we should be prepared for these ill-conceived attempts to return in slightly altered or obfuscated forms, so remain vigilant. I’ve also put up a gallery of some of ...