Easy FREE Home Heat

I found this on my friend Tony's blog and thought it was worth posting on mine. I think I may try this out in my a few rooms in my house. Check it out - it is pretty easy to make and the concept is very simple. Enjoy!



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System Stockholm Syndrome

I was attending a meeting the other day and we (my friend Larry and I) were amazed by the amount of manual work that was happening to get out some monthly reports. At a break, he and I were chatting and he told me about this phrase that his girlfriend 'Lee' came up with. System Stockholm Syndrome. In reality it is a take off of Stockholm Syndrome but it is totally spot on! If you look up this term on Wiki it refers to a bank robbery in which people were held hostage for 5 days or so. At the end of the ordeal, the hostages actually defended their captors. It ultimately refers to the idea that no matter how bad some systems are, people will still defend them and deal with it and not even attempt to make it better.

Ultimately it got me thinking about the way I do things and how I could do them better. It is funny how sometimes it is so much easier to keep doing things the way that we know how to do them, rather than investing a little bit of time to make them better. So, as you go about your day and perform routine tasks, ask yourself this: Could I be doing this in a more efficient way? Enjoy!

Taking 'Self-Sufficient' to a whole new level...

So I was poking around at some of the sites that I frequently go to and ran across this YouTube video. The Ginger Ninjas is a band that goes on tours (like many musical groups do) and decided that to get out their message regarding saving the planet they would do a tour on bikes. Problem was that they still had to carry their gear using trucks etc. So, when they scheduled their next tour, they decided to do the WHOLE thing using only their bikes. They devised a way to turn their bikes into generators and to carry EVERYTHING with them. They can do a whole show for 400 people without ever having to plug into an electrical receptacle. Kind of rare to find people like this who totally believe in a concept and find a solution to support it. Usually it is just lip service.. Check it out! dv

Google 'Chrome'

It appears that Google has introduced a beta of their new web browser called 'Chrome'.  I thought I would give it a whirl and have to say that is very fast.  Not available for the Mac yet, but apparently they are working on it.  Since it is still in beta (does Google ever take software off of beta?) you may run into a few bugs now and then. So, if you are running Windows - take a gander. It has a few cool new features that I think are intuitive and in true Google style, they have a different take on the UI. Check it out and see what you think!  Enjoy!

I want Matt's job!!!!

So, a friend from work sent this to me today and I thought it was worth mentioning it on the rant. Make sure you check out this site to get a little history on Matt. How do you get a job like this, huh! He is sponsored by Stride Gum and has done two or three tours around the world. Enjoy the video - if nothing else it will make you feel good!

Hacking your Coffee Maker

OK - been away for a bit, but I am back now and loaded with lots of topics to rant about. You should see the rants pick up in the near future. Here is the first. I have developed a real interest in data visualization and for that matter visualization in general. It all started when I went to an Edward Tufte seminar and then started working on data visualization for a project at work. It has since passed into most areas of my life. I tend to look at things a little more critically now and am always asking the question 'what is this visual trying to get across' followed by 'how successful is it at doing that'. Maybe it is the long repressed creative side coming out - or maybe just a passing fancy...

I have ranted about data visualization in the past and this one was too good to not pass along. Not only does it apply to data vis., but is also has to do with coffee. Something that is near and dear to my heart as well as the hearts of my readers. Actually, according to Wikipedia's definition of addiction - 'a state in which the body relies on a substance for normal functioning and develops physical dependence', I am 'slightly' addicted to coffee and the caffeine that flows through its (coffee) veins. To the point where I get headaches when I don't get my 'fix' for the day. Tried to quit a few times, but that would only last for a few weeks. What, I ask you, is the point of drinking decaffeinated anything? Anyway - back to the rant...



Some folks figured out how to hack their coffee pot to measure their coffee (caffeine) consumption. Check out the article, it is worth the read. Maybe a few certain people at a certain church that I know of should install these on their coffee machines? The article also brought up a good point, would I actually curb my consumption if I knew how much I drank? That's all for this one ~ Enjoy!

Cool Web App For Finding a House

Once again, my friend Larry sent me a link to a website that is worthy of the rant. A company called 'Trulia' (which helps you in searching for homes) introduced a new tool today called 'Snapshot' which has a very cool UI design (UI = user interface). It allows you to select a price range and shows all the houses that are for sale within that range. Pretty common I know, but it also shows you where they are on the map and includes a little picture of the house (if available). In the words of Larry, 'simple, elegant and it works'. The perfect tri-fecta! Until later, Enjoy!