Over the weekend, I enjoyed several different fireworks shows. Although I enjoyed each show, I couldn't help but feel more and more like I've seen it all before with each new show.

That's when it occurred to me, why haven't fireworks improved over the years? Certainly we have the technology to make them better, right?

So today's Technology I'd Like To See (TILTS) is next generation fireworks. I want to see fireworks that go twice as high and are twice as big as the existing ones. I want to see fireworks that explode into a brilliant, full-color rendition of the American flag. I want to see dozens of fireworks all fired off simultaneously that when exploded, spell out "Happy 4th of July" or "Happy Birthday USA".

And finally, I want someone to come up with a fireworks show that includes something new I haven't even mentioned. C'mon people, surprise me. Keep it fresh!

Disclaimer: Technologies presented in the Technology I'd Like To See (TILTS) series are based on my original (and sometimes delirious) thoughts. I present them here to the public only because I can not afford to implement any of them myself. If you steal borrow one of my ideas and end up filthy rich because of it, please remember where you got the idea and throw a little love my way. Something like a BMW or a big fat check would do just fine.

The video tells an amazing story of Francis Scott Key and how he was forced to watch a British attack on Fort McHenry. And it is this very story that is now played out hundreds of times each day through the playing of our national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner.

The story takes nearly nine minutes to tell so go grab yourself a cup of coffee and get settled in. I promise you that after hearing this story, you will never listen to our national anthem the same ever again.

If you can not see the video player above, please use the direct link to the video on YouTube.

Happy 4th of July!

I may be old school but I've always thought the idea behind a business was to wow your customers. Go above and beyond or get lumped in with everyone else.

Which is why I am dumbfounded at a recent call I received from Best Buy explaining some changes to the Best Buy Reward Zone program. Lucky for me (and perhaps for you) I didn't have my cell phone on me at the time so it went to voice mail. The voice mail, in its entirety, is included on the audio player below. Have a listen.

Note: If you can not see the audio player above, please go to the original blog post on the Noobie web site.

So let me get this straight. I'm supposed to get excited about a call I receive on my cell phone that tells me the reward program I have been using for years will now be making the following changes:

• Reward certificates will only be available by logging on to myrewardzone.com
  
  
• Reward certificates will no longer be transferrable
  
  
• Reward certificates will be cashed out at the $5 level (don't spend EXACTLY $5 and you forfeit part of your reward)
  
  
• You need to provide email address or no longer be eligible to participate in the program
  
  
• Points no longer roll over from year to year
  
  
• You need to make at least one purchase every 12 months to remain in the program

Looks like Best Buy only missed one important change. That being changing the program name from Reward Zone to Penalty Zone.

The Q & A quickly turned to a discussion about what the nectarines Twitter and Facebook are. As I explained each one, I looked around the room and noticed a lot of quizical faces so I quickly concluded with an "It's kind of a younger generation thing. You either get it or you don't."

Satisfaction for all but one

That statement seemed to satisfy most people in the room. Except for one. She approached me after everyone else had left and told me that technologies like Facebook and Twitter are destroying our world. She went on to say that we are putting too much information out where the entire world can see it and that someone needs to control this information soon or we will all face the consequences.

She further stated that consumer electronics products like the Wii, the iPhone and the Kindle have caused us to stop using our brains and that this, in combination with the flow of public information, would eventually lead to the end of the world.

I told her as gracefully as I could that I didn't share her opinion. I explained how I thought the Internet has just caused a paradigm shift (I can't believe I used that phrase even after being out of the corporate world for 3 years) in how people interact with one another. I realized after a minute or two that she wasn't buying a single thing I was saying so I eventually stopped trying to convince her and listened to the rest of her arguments.

What is your opinion?

While I still stand firm on my stance that technology such as Facebook, the Wii and the iPhone are not going to cause the end of civilization, it did make me start to wonder. What do other people think?

Which is why I wrote this blog post. I'm hoping everyone reading it will leave a comment and chime in with their own opinion on the matter. Specifically, is technology preventing us from using our brains and will the public flow of information on the Internet eventually lead to the end of the world if it is not soon controlled?

Let me know what you think.

But when I get jotts like this one, I question my continued use of their service.

Here's what I said: "39 dollars and 75 cents on the Discover card at Speedway on June 25th"

I jotted this because I had just filled up the car with gas and didn't get a receipt.

Here's what was waiting for me from Jott in my email when I got home: "3 9 dollars and 7 5 since on the discover card at speed way on jim 20 fifth."

Now, is it just me, or could someone at Jott have taken the extra two seconds to realize I was giving a dollar amount and transcribe it as "$39.75?" I would have even settled for "39 dollars and 75 cents", written out just like I spoke it. But "7 5 since?" Where's the logic in that?

And do I speak so poorly that the transcriber couldn't deduce that "jim 20 fifth" should have been "June 25th?"

C'mon Jott, where's the quality control?

Two emotions hit me immediately. The first was to think how cool it was that the church was embracing technology and encouraging younger generations to pray using the communication method most familiar to them. This emotion was followed by one of disappointment as I pictured hoards of teenagers skipping Sunday mass because they already texted their prayers into the church.

So what do you think? Is texting your prayers to a church a step forward or a step back?

I know, I keep thinking the same thing. What happened?

I could write all kinds of excuses here but that's not what this blog post is about. This blog post is about finally putting my money where my mouth is.

Literally.

This time I'm "stickking" to it

Enter the web site, Stickk, which allows you to enter your goals, ranging anywhere from losing weight to saving money to learning a foreign language. It's really up to you to put whatever you want for your goal.

The beauty is in what happens next. I'm referring to the part where you enter your credit card number along with the amount of money you are willing to stake that you will meet your goal. And if you're thinking that Stickk keeps the money if you don't meet your goal, you're wrong. You decide who gets the money.

In my case, I've selected a goal of losing 13 pounds in 9 weeks (it's a start). I put $90 on the line and designated my sister as the recipient of my money if I don't meet my goal. Stick broke my goal down into 9 weekly check-ins worth $10 each. Today was my first check-in and I'm proud to say I'm ahead of my goal and my first $10 will remain safely in my own pocket.

Now some of you skeptics out there may say that this isn't very effective because I could just lie about my weight each week. That's why Stickk also lets you designate a referee. I chose my wife, but you can choose whomever you like. Your referee's job is to verify each week that you are telling the truth. So if on any given week I say I met my goal but my wife says otherwise, I lose the $10.

Give money to people you despise

Stickk also lets you get creative on where your money could go. They have both charity and anti-charity options. The charity is just what it sounds like. Each week you don't meet your goal, your money is donated to the charity of your choice. But for some people, that's not enough motivation because they feel good when their money goes to a good cause. That's where the anti-charity comes in. The idea behind the anti-charity is to pick a charity that would make your blood boil if you knew that money in your name was donated to them.

Finally, Stick offers several support options including letting me people leave messages for you offering their support and praise. They also let you publish your goals and weekly updates to your Facebook profile. I have opted to do this for the sole purpose that the more people that know about what I am trying to accomplish, the harder I will work to meet my goal.

Time will tell whether all of this will work. Talk to me again in late August when I will either be 13 pounds lighter or $80 poorer.

P.S. If you want to help support me in my goal, send me your email address or your Stickk screen name so I can add you to my list of supporters.

Like the Keurig single-cup coffee maker I received as a gift for Father's Day. All it does is make coffee. But it's the way it makes coffee that makes it so cool.

The Keurig coffee maker doesn't use any filters and you never have measure or scoop any coffee. Instead you insert neat little single-serving containers of coffee, called K-Cups, near the top of the coffee maker. Place your coffee mug under the spout, press a button to start the brewing process and a perfect cup of coffee awaits you seconds later.

No messy filter. No wasted coffee. Nothing to clean up.

Of course, there is a price to pay for this convenience. Namely the cost of the coffee maker itself (around $100 or less if you catch it on sale) and the cost of the K-Cups (about 50 cents per cup). But both are still well worth it in my opinion.

I'd tell you more about it but I suddenly have a thirst for another cup of Extra Bold Donut Shop Coffee.

I just finished a meeting with a networking contact at Starbucks and was halfway to a lunch meeting. That's when I looked at my dashboard and wondered why I hadn't mounted my GPS receiver. It took about two seconds for me to realize that the reason I hadn't mounted my GPS receiver was because my GPS receiver wasn't in the car with me. And the reason my GPS receiver wasn't in the car with me was because it was in my backpack.

I'll let you guess where my backpack was. Give yourself a point if you guessed Starbucks.

Hoping people are honest... but just to be safe

I like to think people are honest but I knew how tempting it would be if someone walked into Starbucks, noticed a backpack sitting near an empty table and decided to look inside, only to find a Garmin Nuvi 660 GPS unit.

Which is why I knew I had to call the Starbucks store right away, even though I had already turned around my car and would be back at the store in 10 minutes.

One problem. I had no idea what the phone number was for the Starbucks store I was just at.

Enter GOOG-411. GOOG-411 is Google's version of 411 directory assistance. Of course, since it is from Google, it means that it is cooler than the other directory assistance services out there and (surprise) it's free.

I felt kind of silly talking to automated voice prompts but I didn't care once I realized how easy it was to answer the questions and how well GOOG-411 understood my responses.

Sample call

My GOOG-411 "conversation" went something like this:

GOOG-411: "Say the business and the city and state."

Me: "Starbucks, Indianapolis, Indiana"

GOOG-411: "To narrow it down say a nearby intersection or enter a zip code."

Me: "Intech Commons Drive" (for some reason I remembered the street name from my original trip to the Starbucks)

GOOG-411: "Starbucks, Intech Commons Drive, I'll connect you."

Yup, it was that easy. The manager of the store told me my backpack was still sitting at the empty table and put it in safekeeping until I arrived.

If you want to try GOOG-411 for yourself, just dial 1-800-GOOG-411 from any phone. But if you dial from your cell phone you can take advantage of added features such as receiving your directory information as a text message or even as a Google map to your desired location.

Not only did Apple add video capture and recording with the iPhone 3G S but Apple also made it drop-dead simple to share your recorded video with others.

I found this out over the weekend when I shot my first video of my son jumping off a diving board at a public pool. To shoot the video I just pressed the camera icon on my iPhone and then used my finger to slide an on-screen switch from camera mode to video mode. Then it was a simple matter of pressing record to start recording and stop to stop recording.

After recording the video, I pressed one more button to distribute the video and selected YouTube as the destination. I entered a title and description for the video, a few tags and a category and before I knew it, the video was uploading to YouTube straight from my iPhone.

A few minutes later this was the result:

If you can not see the video above, please use the direct link to the video.

Take this morning for instance when I was checking email about 20 minutes before I had to leave the house. It was just then that a little magical window appeared on my screen telling me that the iPhone 3.0 software was available for my iPhone.

Here's a list of reasons why a message like this should be ignored in this situation:

• I was checking email not checking for iPhone software updates
  
  
• The update for a major software release like the 3.0 software will most definitely take longer than the 20 minutes I had to install
  
  
• I already ordered the new iPhone 3G S which will have the 3.0 software pre-installed and will arrive on my doorstep tomorrow.

Now let's look at the list of reasons why I should not ignore the software update message:

• The new 3.0 software update is just so cool and I can't wait to try out all of its new features

Care to guess whether I could resist the new software update message? I'll give you a hint. My entire schedule started about 30 minutes late today.

But the new 3.0 software update really is cool!

I set out this morning for a 4 mile walk, armed with a brand new audiobook on my iPod. I became immediately engrossed in the book and was quite proud of myself for killing two birds with one stone (exercising and business self-improvement).

Good idea, bad execution

But something weird happened. A few chapters into the book, the author of the audiobook made a reference to something earlier in the audiobook that I didn't remember hearing. I chalked it up to my mind drifting for a few seconds and continued on.

Then it happened again. Only this time, the author seemed to be on a completely different topic and was talking about it as if he had been talking about it for hours.

And then the final blow. Right after the author finished a sentence, I was smack dab in the middle of an interview with the author. No lead-in, no introduction. Just smack dab in the middle of an interview.

This is the moment I realized my iPod was in shuffle mode, 45 minutes and 15 so-called chapters into the book.

There's something to be said about sequential reading

If you aren't familiar with shuffle mode imagine picking up a paperback and reading chapter 1, then chapter 12, then chapter 5, then chapter 34, then chapter 19. That is what my iPod was doing with my audiobook.

The worst part is that the only real remedy is to turn shuffle mode off and start the book all over again at chapter 1.

Yes, today I am a noobie.

I liked the experience so much I decided to tweet about it on Twitter later that morning. Here's what I wrote:

I could listen to thunderstorms all day long. Are there any more on the way?

A few minutes later, I got this reply:

For those of you that don't know, Paul Poteet is a well-known meteorologist in Indianapolis. Five different radio stations use Paul as their source for weather information and Indianapolis RTV6 uses Paul as their morning and midday meteorologist.

As far as I am concerned, Paul Poteet can now add to his resume that he is Mr. Noobie's personal weatherman (apologies Paul but weatherman rolls off the tongue faster than meteorologist). If you don't believe me, follow the rest of the conversation later that day on Twitter:

@PaulPoteet Awesome! Hopefully storms wrap up by tomorrow. My sons have pool day at camp tomorrow and already missed it last week - too cold

And some people still think Twitter is good for nothing!

Yeah, I saw a couple of commercials on television reminding me that June 12 is the new date but nothing like I saw earlier this year when the date was still February 17.

I'm guessing the reason for this is that the switchover to digital television, like Y2K, has been beat to death. So I'm going to do my part and leave it alone as well.

R.I.P. analog television

Just know that by the time you read this, analog television will (should) be dead.

Mainly out of curiosity, I am dying to know if anyone actually woke up this morning unable to watch television. If you did, leave a comment below and tell me your story. I'd love to hear it!

Every Friday I do a movie night with my kids. My two sons alternate each week to see who gets to pick the movie. Usually, I am prepared and have a movie on-hand from Netflix or I take my kids to our local Family Video store or a Redbox kiosk to get the movie. But last week was a hectic week and come Friday, I found myself unprepared and without a movie.

My kids summer camp is just down the street from a Blockbuster so I decided to head there instead of Family Video or RedBox kiosk when I picked up my kids at the end of the day. Sometimes it's just about what is closest.

After about 10 minutes of browsing, my son locked on to Dr. Doolittle: Million Dollar Mutts. I took the movie up to the counter, presented my Blockbuster card to the man behind the counter and turned my attention back to my kids.

Where the trouble began

A few seconds later, the man said to me, "Ok, that will be $5.34."

I about fainted. $5.34 for a kids movie? I questioned the man behind the counter and he told me the price was higher because it was a new release. His explanation did nothing to make me feel better.

You see, the kids video (new releases included) are half that price at Family Video, only $1.00 at a Redbox kiosk and included with my Netflix membership. To pay $5.34 for one movie is just ridiculous. Especially in an age of digital downloads where new releases in high definition can be instantly downloaded for less from the likes of Amazon Video on Demand, the iTunes Store and dozens of others.

I thought for a brief moment about telling Blockbuster to void the transaction and keep the movie but then had a vision of what would happen when I told my son he couldn't have the movie he picked out. All of you parents out there will hopefully sympathize with me.

Unfortunately my kids are pretty attentive and could tell I was unhappy with the price of the movie despite the fact that I still rented it. I explained to them on the drive home that I could probably purchase the movie for $15.00. To prove my point, I looked up the movie on Amazon.com when I got home. There it was for $16.99 (I was close).

Would anybody do this?

But here's the real kicker. I remembered that Blockbuster allows you to keep a rented movie and convert it into a purchase. So I checked my receipt and just about fainted again. There it was, near the top of the receipt. Own It 06/15/09 For Only $21.99 More.

$21.99? More?!?!

So let me get this straight. If I want to own this used (and probably badly treated) movie from Blockbuster, it only costs me the $5.34 I already paid plus an additional $21.99 plus tax again? That's nearly $30!

The only good thing to come of this entire experience was the feeling I had when I dropped the movie in the return slot the next day knowing it was the last movie I will ever rent from Blockbuster.

Are you finally ready to lose some weight with no effort, well I am living proof that those acai berry pills everyone is talking about actually work, I lost 22 pounds in two weeks and it only cost me five dollars over at http://regontown.com

For a split second, I thought my friend was trying to tell me something. After all I have put on a few pounds over the past few months. But that thought quickly faded as I realized my friend would never send me an unsolicited instant message like this.

Then I started to look at the punctuation. Again, my friend wouldn't end his sentences with commas and knows enough to start the beginning of a new sentence with a capital letter.

Hijacking and spoofing

So I knew the message was either the result of someone hijacking his account (learning his username and password and then changing the psasword to have full control of someone else's account) or spoofing (sending messages that appear to come from someone else's account). Either way, there was zero chance I was going to click on that link for the web site mentioned in the message.

And for safety reasons, I intentionally changed the link to that web site on this blog post to go nowhere in case someone accidentally clicks on it.

I want noobies to learn from this experience. You know how your friends talk. You know what type of messages they send you. So when you receive one that just doesn't sound like something your friend would say, it probably didn't come from your friend.

Be careful how you respond

You can always use an alternate form of communication to ask your friend if he/she really sent you the message. In other words, if you receive an instant message, email your friend. If you receive it via email, instant message or call your friend. Just don't reply to the original message.

Now, if anyone knows any legitimate way to quickly lose 22 pounds in two weeks, I'm all ears!

Then a year ago, Apple introduced a faster iPhone that utilized a 3G network to replace the slower EDGE network. Once again I found myself debating whether it was worth it to invest in the new iPhone. But this time around, I stuck to the status quo mainly because the 3G was really the only thing I was missing out on. The rest of the new features were made available through a software upgrade which I was able to get on my first generation iPhone.

It's June and you know what that means

Well it's June and here we go again. At the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) today, Apple announced a major upgrade to the iPhone, dubbed the iPhone 3G S. Perfect timing too I might add. How many millions of us are just finishing our 2-year contract from our original iPhone purchase?

After reviewing the list of new features available on the iPhone 3G S and watching all of the promotional videos, my decision this time around as to whether or not I should upgrade will be simple.

Absolutely yes.

I think I'm even more excited this time around than I was for the first generation iPhone. I wish I could spell out all of the new features that will be jam-packed into the new iPhone but too many others have already done that and besides, I don't want to bore you.

A few features I am looking forward to

But suffice it to say, I am definitely looking forward to the speed boost, longer battery life, upgraded 3 megapixel camera with touch-screen focus, full video capability with touch-screen editing and auto upload to YouTube, cut, copy and paste capability, complete voice control including voice commanding the iPod functions, landscape keyboard, faster loading apps, Spotlight Search, video messaging, Internet tethering, improved parental controls, voice memos and a digital compass that can assist applications using the GPS functions of the phone to determine which direction you are facing.

Whew. And I'm sure I missed something.

When Apple announced a sale date for the iPhone 3G S of June 19th I couldn't believe how soon it would be. I would only have to wait 11 days to get the new iPhone. But now I just found out you can pre-order it.

I don't think I'll see the close of business tomorrow without pre-ordering the iPhone 3G S.

For more information on the iPhone 3G S you can watch the guided tour or view all of the features.

Out of curiosity, I decided to figure out exactly how many words per minute I can type using a simple typing test I found on the Internet at www.typingtest.com. The results of my test are shown below:

Not bad, huh?

Typing over the century mark on words-per-minute has its disadvantages though. Like when I have to watch my kids use the hunt-and-peck method when they type on the computer. Often in the time it takes them to find one letter, I could have type an entire sentence.

Is there such a thing as too young?

So this begs the question, when is an appropriate age to teach your kids the proper typing method? It most certainly is earlier than high school.

I did a few quick searches on Google and Amazon.com and found dozens of sources for teaching the proper typing method including Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing and SpongeBob Squarepants Typing. There are also a handful of web sites that offer games to help kids (and adults) learn typing.

My oldest son just completed 1st grade. I think he's ready. And I can't conceive any negative impact of teaching him the proper way to type at his age.

Maybe by the end of summer, I'll give my son the same typing test I took on www.typingtest.com and post the results here on my blog. If he cracks 100 word-per-minute, I'm turning the company reigns over to him.

But why should the burden of setting up all of these reminders fall on my shoulders? Why can't the library send me a text message a few days before my books are due? And the IRS when my taxes are due? Why don't hair salons and health clinics use appointment software that automatically send out text message reminders the day before or even 30 minutes before your appointment (or both)?

Today's technology I'd like to see is a text messaging service that businesses could easily integrate into their existing appointment (or other) software. I can already picture how nice this would be the next time I schedule my haircut. "Ok, Mr. Welch, you are all set for 3 weeks from Thursday at 6:00 p.m. Would you like a text reminder the day before your appointment?"

Yes please.

Disclaimer: Technologies presented in the Technology I'd Like To See (TILTS) series are based on my original (and sometimes delirious) thoughts. I present them here to the public only because I can not afford to implement any of them myself. If you steal borrow one of my ideas and end up filthy rich because of it, please remember where you got the idea and throw a little love my way. Something like a BMW or a big fat check would do just fine.