I Can Jump The Grand Canyon With No Handlebars
Casually sunbathing on a rock column in the Grand Canyon.
The photographer sets up his tripod on a perilous pinnacle of rock.
Time to get back…One, two, three, jump!
Oohh, close! He didn’t grab the rock properly the first time and slipped back about 50cm (20 inches) before clinging onto it. Even then he didn’t look fazed.
Read the whole story over here.
Hack: Free Wi-Fi At AT&T Hotspots (Starbucks, Barnes and Nobles)
AT&T runs the hotspots at Starbucks and Barnes and Nobles and they are offering free Wi-Fi to iPhone customers. If you don’t have an iPhone you can still get free Wi-Fi by switching your browsers user agent. By sending an iPhone user agent from our laptops we can get free Wi-Fi without an iPhone or iTouch.
A User Agent is a name sent by your browser to let the web site know what client you are using. So a Firefox browser might send a user agent like: FireFox 2.0 (Win XP) This is simple to change.
The easiest way to change your user agent is by adding the User Agent Switcher plug-in on Firefox. A huge list of different user agents can be found here.
However the one we want is the iPhone user agent:
Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/1A543a Safari/419.3
So set your user agent to this and BAM! Free Wi-Fi at AT&T Hotspots. I know this is a pretty simple hack so it should be plugged up soon…. so get it while it last.
iPhone Price Cut… Not!
My friend Jon sent me this link on the iPhone from Fortune. These are some of the worst rumors I have read so far. To see my predictions from back in March check this out.
First off they say that the new 3G iPhone will be $200 cheaper with a 2 year contract. The contract is require at the current price of the iPhone (non-3G) so this will basically be a free $200 bucks off, Fortune predicts. However, this is not going to be available at Apple retail or online stores, but only through AT&T. Why would they have a $200 price difference for the same product?
Of course we have a magical lock or program to make this fake story possibly true.
The new iPhone sold by AT&T will likely be locked or programmed so buyers can’t take the cheaper iPhone to another phone service.
Why would Apple develop two firmwares versions just for AT&T? That doesn’t seem like anything Apple would ever do. And having to maintain two firmwares during updates and patches. Also making sure this magical lock or program doesn’t cause any security holes and other problems… yuck!
Also just to nit pick the story a little more and rub salt in the wound most rumors say that the new iPhone will be slightly larger then the current model, not sleeker.
some extra shine on the even sleeker new Apple (AAPL) iPhone.
Wrong again Fortune.
And they predict the release date was….
The new iPhone is expected to be released on the one-year anniversary of the original iPhone debut June 27 or thereabouts.
OOHH I’m sorry you lose again. The correct answer is June 9-13th, 2008. Why? Well read my first rumors article and you’ll know why. =)
The only thing I can think of is that they might drop the price of the older model iPhones down by $200. The new 3G iPhones might not cost as much either… but no where near a $200 price drop.
For spreading evil lies and giving false hope, Fortune.cnn.com you lose 500 internets. Game Over!
Does Windows Vista Suck?
Does Windows Vista suck?… Maybe. =)
I am currently running three Windows XP systems and two Ubuntu systems. I really like Ubuntu and if it wasn’t for certain types of coding, programs, games, and Lotus Notes I would switch to Ubuntu permanently… OH yeah AND Netflix Streaming Videos which requires IE and Windows Media Player 11… You suck Netflix! … okay no you don’t.. I love streaming movies, I just hate your requirements. I want to pick up a new 3G iPhone and MacBook for some iPhone SDK goodness, but that will wait till Summer/Thanksgiving.
This is just a short open question. Does Windows Vista really suck? I would say yes it does suck because it doesn’t bring any new interesting features that my Windows XP installs didn’t already have and it moves everything around to different places so I have trouble helping out friends with Vista issues. I couldn’t even help my friend share a printer over a LAN. (Something I had done for years, but whatever, its working now, and thats another story.) All I hear is stories about troubles with install/upgrades and frustration even with machines from the manufactures. Runs slow, drivers issues, and software incompatibilities are all the issues I hear from Vista (Non-Ultimate) users. And the exact reasons I run XP is for speed, drivers, and software compatibility. So I am very VERY hesitant to switch to Vista.
I have only heard about good stories coming from people who either got “hooked up with” or pirated copies of Vista Ultimate. Ultimate Edition seems to be the only good version of Vista, but have YET to see anyone pay full price for it. They say it runs stable and if all drivers are available it works great.
So why would Microsoft only release an Operating System which has cheaper non-functions editions which their now unhappy customers purchased and leave the pirates and discounted people enjoying the Ultimate goodness? This doesn’t sound like a good business model. Let me know what you think with a comment or e-mail.
DARPA And Its Robots
I have been following the DARPA Grand Challenge since is started back in 2004. I used to work on automated software for testing space batteries in the Battery Evaluation Laboratory (BEL) and heard about the challenge. My company even had a vehicle in the challenge that I was considering helping out. However, I was in school full time, working part-time, and had a girlfriend that I wanted to keep. Out of the four choices I could only pick three.
- School
- Work
- Girlfriend
- Help Golem
So I never really looked into helping them out, but I think I picked the right three. But thats still no excuses for not being able to follow the progress. Its great to see a product finally come out of the DARPA Grand Challenge.
DARPA Crusher
(youtube.com)
Remember that this is a 6.5-ton autonomous off-road Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle. You push start and hope it doesn’t view you as a threat. No one drives it or aims it…. Autonomous!
Oh but if they need to control this beast, how else would you do it besides using an iPhone and XBox 360 controller.
In addition to being completely autonomous, Crusher can be remotely controlled thanks to a hacked together Iphone and Xbox 360 interface. The Iphone can receive vehicle updates while the Xbox controller can steer and fire the weapons.
But wait! We have more! Looks like one robot is not enough for DARPA, they had to create another Robot that looks like an AT-AT from Star Wars. Its Boston Dynamics, BigDog quadruped robot.This thing even looks like a scary AT-AT!
(youtube.com)
I liked when he kicks the body… Of course its not going to fall over um… try the tow cable (Didn’t he watch The Empire Strikes Back). And of course the Human Spoof. =)
Everyday I get more and more fearful that ED-209’s will be roaming the streets… “You have downloaded a illegal MP3, please delete it in 5 seconds or be terminated… 4 seconds to comply… 3 seconds to comply… “, No!!! Windows cannot delete file, It is being used by another person or program! AAAHHHH!!!
![Maybe that \](http://www.rungeek.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/ed209.jpg "Maybe that \")
Where Does The Morning Go? (Morning Routine)
(7:15 – 7:30am) - Wake up around 7:15ish
(7:30 – 7:45am) - Brush Teeth… maybe shave.
While brushing teeth, remember all the stuff I was suppose to do online last night but forgot.
(7:45 – 8:45am) – Internet/Computer
(8:45 – 9:00am) – Shower
(9:00 – 9:30am) – Commute to Work (Sometimes with Drive-Through Coffee)
(9:30am) – Get to work and wonder what took me so long to get here… I woke up around 7!
Hmm… I think I have an addiction to the Internet. I could cut my morning routine almost in half by not using the Internet. Haha who am I kidding; not use the Internet, I might as well give up air while I’m at it. /sarcasm
So what is your Morning Routine like? Leave a comment.
Hope you guys like the fancy pie chart! Its from the Google Chart API.
You can create your own charts, graphs, maps, and other types of ways to display your data.
Heres my example:
http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?
chs=475×200
&chd=t:15,15,60,15,30&cht=p3
&chl=Wake%20Up|Brush%20Teeth/Shave|Internet|Shower|Commute&chtt=Morning%20Routine
&chco=00ff00,0000ff
http://chart.apis.google.com/chart? = Start Code for Chart API
chs = Chart Scale at 475W by 200H
chd = Chart Data in Mins
chl = Chart Labels Match Data
chco = Chart Color from Green (00ff00) to Blue (0000ff)
Doing My Part For Earth Day
This 20-minute talk is informative and passionate about environmental issues and sustainability.
The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
At the end of the short video she does explain intervene with our system in crisis by not bumping against limits. If you have having a difficult time conscience consuming then I suggest you take a look at Material World: A Global Family Portrait
This books takes a unique perspective on the amount of Materials we own compared to the “statistically average” families in other country’s. After the photographers spent one week living with each family, learning about their work, their attitudes toward their possessions, and their hopes for the future, they took picture outside the dwelling, surrounded by all their (many or few) material goods.
This book has amazing photographs and is definitely worth taking a look at.
This is all great stuff for Earth Day. Even Google can’t wait for Earth Day. Check out some of the cool features they added to Google Earth 4.3 for Earth Day!
- New Navigation
- More and Faster Rendering 3D Buildings
- Sun Control so you can view Sunrise and Sunset
- Street View
- Displays Imagery Acquisition Date so you know when the picture was taken
- 12 New Languages
ActiveX content removed. If this affects desired functionality, fill out this form.
(youtube.com)
So what are you going to do for Earth Day? Let the world know!
Bernie - “I will convert light bulbs to energy efficients ones, and take cold showers after my runs.”
Task Manager Tip: Show Kernal Times
Heres a little tip to help you find the CPU Usage of your current applications. In the Windows Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del), click on the Performance Tab and it will display a graph of the CPU Usage History. The total CPU Usage is displayed in Green.
However, if you click on View->Show Kernel Times you can get information about the CPU Usage Time on the System (Kernel).
The Red Line displays Kernel CPU usage, while the Green Line displays total CPU usage.
This means that if your trying to figure out how much CPU your current program is using you take the Green (Total) CPU Usage - Red (System) CPU Usage = Current Application Usage.
Also if you Double Click on the Graph it will display in the full window.
Double Click the graph to go back to the previous view.
Call of Duty 4 on Sale!
Hey everyone! Call Of Duty 4
If you pick up a copy meet me on XBox Live. Gamertag: AeroBernie
Amazon You Rock! $50 Back From HD-DVD Players
Amazon has great customer relations. They sent out an e-mail to all customers who purchased a HD-DVD player from them before February 23, 2008, that they will receive a $50 gift card.
“New technologies don’t always work out as planned. We at Amazon.com value our customer relationships more than anything,” said Amazon in the e-mail.
In addition to Amazon and Best Buy, Circuit City and Wal-Mart have also begun offering special refund policies for HD DVD players.
I love Amazon. They have tons of products at great prices. I am thinking about getting a new pull-up bar because my current one is putting dents in the door frame. I am thinking about picking up one of these.
Creative Fitness Door Gym
