Kevin Conroy's Post-It Feed

Keep Out!

2006-09-08T10:16:00.000-04:00

Wired.com is running a very interesting story on an effort by the Dept. of Energy to create nuclear waste warning signs that can last 10,000 years and be easily understood by future generations without the need to translate “hieroglyphics.” They’re playing with lots of different designs that evoke emotions of pain or danger. One design is structured to absorb heat from the surrounding desert and create an uncomfortable environment that would make the space feel uninviting. It’s a very interesting look at how to leverage deep-root psychological factors to convey a (hopefully) clear message.

You can read the article at: http://wired.com/news/culture/0,71724-0.html

BlogZot

2006-06-16T16:40:00.000-04:00

MacZot is having another crazy cool blogzot where bloggers given free publicity to an application and in turn have a chance at getting a free registration. Here's my MacZot entry.

My review of HoudahSpot as seen on MacZOT.com

-- Enter your thoughts on HoudahSpot here --

NOTE: If you're seeing this on June 16, 2006 head over to MacZOT, you might be able to get a Free copy of HoudahSpot

Search easily in Tiger, Mac OS X, with HoudahSpot

WSJ.com - Colleges Face Privacy Issues As ID Cards Collect More Data

2006-06-08T09:33:00.000-04:00

The WSJ has an interesting article on the poor state of privacy at many college campus around the country that use magnetic swipe cards to provide students access to dorms, classrooms, recreational facilities, and meal plans. Many colleges are effectively collecting a complete record of students’ activities over insecure network using ID cards that contain unencrypted personal information. With some cheap hardware and a little technical know-how, it would be possible for anyone to set up a large scale identity theft scheme at many colleges around the country.

The article links to a case study of the University of Maryland, College Park that shows just how insecure these systems are and at the high privacy risk many college students face with ID card systems.

DISCLAIMER: One of the authors of the UMCP case study is my brother. I am very proud of his work and think it’s important that the university respond to his requests for a more secure system that protects his and other students’ identities.

Fotografie: Martin Schoeller - 'Close Up' - stern.de

2006-06-05T08:24:00.000-04:00

I found this over on the 37signals blog. There are some amazing photographs of celebrities. Brilliant use of depth of field as you almost never see a celebrity at an f-stop lower than 5.6. See for yourself at Fotografie: Martin Schoeller

macZOT | One Great Mac Software. Daily. | BlogZOT!

2006-05-24T13:46:00.000-04:00

MacZOT.com Fans want Pzizz because 'According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep deprivation and its effect on work performance may be costing U.S. employers some $18 billion each year in lost productivity. Another study pushes this cost to over $100 billion.' - link to full article

macZOT!

2006-05-24T13:45:00.000-04:00

You know that if you haven't gone to macZOT! this week, you really should. They've got a mega cool MysteryZot! And Pzizz.

Go on. You know you want too. All the cool kids are.

macZOT!

2006-04-27T07:24:00.000-04:00

macZOT! is a crazy delicious site that offers amazing discounts on quality Mac software. my only complaint is that i didn't find it a DAY earlier as they were offering a discount on a program I'm interested in call SubEthaEdit and the day before on another program called AppZapper.

Oh well, there's always today's cool chat history app called Chat Transcript Manager.

Last.fm

2006-02-06T11:43:00.000-05:00

So I'm trying out a new service called Last.fm. It's an online service that tracks you listening habits and then recommends new music. I've downloaded the iTunes plug-in and it's now uploading my data to Last.fm

They even publish the data. Here's my top artists (may be empty until they build a listening profile for me):

Cafe Press: "I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar!"

2006-01-26T15:56:00.000-05:00

A Cafe Press store that offers some great Serenity merchanise!

Comment Spam and New Rules for Feedback

2005-12-15T10:42:00.000-05:00

At the request of one of my visitors a few months ago, I enabled comments on this blog. Since then, only one or two human visitors have commented on my posts, but in the last two weeks, I've gotten about 30 robotic blog spam comments. These comments are surprising well written and contain contexual information about my postings to try to trick me into letting them onto the blog.

When I first noticed the problem, I turned on comment moderation in the hopes that I could just manually filter out the spam. Alas, the constant barage of e-mails for spam comment moderation is getting annoying, so rather than fight with the spammers, I'm just going to turn off comments all together.

So, if you want to leave feedback, I encourage you to e-mail me. Look at the URL of this blog. My e-mail is the first part of the URL at gmail dot com. If you want to leave a comment, I'll add your feedback to any postings.

World PC Expo Coverage

2005-12-12T09:05:00.000-05:00

Here's some Japanese coverage of the World PC Expo. (English Translation via Google)

Photocritic.org article - Macro on the Cheap

2005-12-09T16:25:00.000-05:00

Photocritic.org article - Macro on the Cheap: "Extreme Macro photograpy - On a budget!"

Neel's Mom

2005-12-07T09:11:00.000-05:00

For everything related to Neel's Mom, check out NeelsMom.com

Hillcrest Labs Wins CES Best of Innovations 2006

2005-12-07T08:18:00.000-05:00

The company that I work for, Hillcrest Laboratories has won a CES Best of Innovations 2006 award in the category of Video Accessories. It's nice to know that all of the long hours of work have paid off.

The Hand Puppet Movie Theatre Presents: Serenity

2005-12-01T08:28:00.000-05:00

For anyone who has seen the movie Serenity, I strongly suggest that you read "The Hand Puppet Movie Theatre Presents: Serenity". WARNING: Linked site contains spoilers!!!

10 Things Every New Mac Owner Should Know

2005-11-29T15:33:00.000-05:00

10 Things Every New Mac Owner Should Know is an interesting little article that will come in handy once my wife and I finally switch over to that sexy new iMac.

Ten Rules for Web Startups

2005-11-28T13:27:00.000-05:00

Ten Rules for Web Startups from the founder of Blogger and Odeo.

Serenity Now

2005-11-23T15:00:00.001-05:00

Another Serenity Review

Serenity Now

2005-11-23T15:00:00.000-05:00

Another Serenity Review

TaskSwitchXP

2005-11-14T16:45:00.000-05:00

TaskSwitchXP is an advanced task management utility that picks up where the standard Windows Alt+Tab switcher leaves off. It provides the same functionality, and adds visual styles to the dialog and also enhances it by displaying thumbnail preview of the application that will be switched to. TaskSwitchXP also has a powerful process and window management capability that allows you quickly to close/minimize applications and their groups. The unique capabilities of TaskSwitchXP make it useful for tracking down multitudinous windows, and provide insight into the way Windows and applications work.

-- via Download Squad

TVHarmony Converts TiVo Recordings into iPod Format

2005-10-31T07:48:00.000-05:00

"TVHarmony.com has released a new version of its AutoPilot software that supports converting TiVo-recorded shows into a format that's compatible with the new video iPod. It also works with Palm devices that can view video.

The software automatically transfers, converts and stores your TV programming. You can select shows to be downloaded automatically, in the middle of the night if you like, and process the transfers into popular formats. AutoPilot keeps track of the shows you've already downloaded so you can transfer an entire TV series without duplicates.

You need a networked TiVo with TiVoToGo capability, a minimum of 10 GB hard drive space, Windows 2000 or XP, and TiVo Desktop software version 2.1 or higher. You need to have your TiVo's IP address and Media Access Key."

-- via PVRWire

Tech Yogurt » 23 Ways to Speed Up Windows XP

2005-10-14T17:38:00.000-04:00

Tech Yogurt » 23 Ways to Speed Up Windows XP: "23 Ways to Speed Up Windows XP"

mboverloadPAK Firefox Extension System

2005-10-13T08:24:00.000-04:00

mboverloadPAK Firefox Extension System

Serenity

2005-10-03T08:54:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I saw Serenity (see also: Fandango, IMDB). To put it simply, I was amazed. Rarely does a movie blend action, suspense, and science fiction so masterfully with a rich background of characters and an amusing dialog. Although not all of the plot turns were unexpected, the writers broke numerous Hollywood clichés throughout the movie, causing my jaw to hit the floor on more than one occasion. I won't do any spoilers, but I will say that the surprises they put in the movie had me captivated for two days afterwards. I plan to see it a second time in the theatres so that I can be sure to capture the full depth of the story in relation to the characters. Thus far, it is my favorite movie of 2005.

If you haven't already, go buy/rent/~~steal~~ Firefly and then go see Serenity.

UPDATE: Don't take my word for it. Read what Orson Scott Card, author of numerous books including Ender's Game, has to say about Serenity. (via /.)

UPDATE 2: The DVD is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com

My New Favorite TV Show: Veronica Mars

2005-09-30T07:56:00.000-04:00

Kristen Bell as Veronica Mars

Okay, so as many of you may (or may not) know, a few years ago my favorite show was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The show had everything: great writing, wonderful characters, action, suspense, and some actors/actresses that weren't too bad on the eyes. Mainly, I feel in love with Joss Whedon's writing/directing. (Note: One of my favorite DVD sets is the Firefly series.. and yes, I'm totally psyched about Serenity) So, with seven seasons of Buffy and the Firefly DVD set that I love, I took note earlier this summer when Joss was quoted as saying the following about Veronica Mars:

* "Best. Show. Ever."
* "I've never gotten more wrapped up in a show I wasn't making."
* "These guys know what they are doing on a level that intimidates me."
* "It's the Harry Potter of shows."
-- via TVSquad

So, I went to TiVO and got a season pass. I also caught up on Season 1. After seeing all of Season 1 and being floored by the Season 2 premiere last night, I have to say that Veronica Mars is one of the most interesting, heart-warming, and well-written TV shows that I have ever seen. It is on par with the first three seasons of Buffy, all of Firefly, and I have to admit that I like it more than the first two seasons of Alias. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to see some good television.

And turns out that the people at Veronica Mars are Joss fans: Not only does Buffy/Angel star Charisma Carpenter has a recurring role this season, but Zap2it reports that Joss Whedon will be guest starring in an episode this season.

Veronica Mars is on Wednesdays, 9 p.m. on UPN.