# Friday, September 09, 2005

Be afraid, be very afraid...

Cosplay just grows and grows:

Cosplay Lab features tens of thousands of anime, manga, video game, J-Rock, sci-fi and fantasy costumes created by people just like you from all over the world. It's your one-stop shop for maintaining your entire costume collection, organize cosplay skits and photoshoots, meet other cosplayers, get info on upcoming anime conventions, and way more! Join for FREE and elevate your cosplay.

[ Cosplay Lab ]

What surprises me is the unique set of skills and interests that would seem to be required for a hobby like this. I guess 2 or 3 folks might have those, but enough to make a slick community website like this? Next thing you know people will be paying $5 for a cup of coffee just to experience a certain life style...

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Yummy!

Some country singer girl wants you to know:

Free Vintage T-Shirt from Hershey

[ HERSHEY'S Vintage ]

I'm partial to the Reese's T-Shirt. Wonder if it wears better when frozen...

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The kids today don't know about the jazz

But you can. What a great line up planned for this weekend:

2nd Annual Silver Spring Jazz Fest
Starring Wynton Marsalis
September 10, 2005, 2:00 to 10:30 p.m. - FREE!
At Fenton Street and Ellsworth Drive in Downtown Silver Spring.

[ Silver Sprung ]

Silver Spring, Jazz, Good Times, how can you go wrong? Kojo says he's going, why not you?

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Grab a webpage, save it as a graphic!

Nate was inquiring to my "work homepage". It uses this "jobby" to create some thumbnails of my most frequently used "homepage" like sites:

url2bmp is a Windows freeware converting an URL to an image

[ url2bmp ]

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# Wednesday, September 07, 2005

I'm giving Trillian another go...

Google Talk has pushed me back over the edge. Too many programs, and they all do the same thing. I'll try Trillian again.

Trillian is a fully featured, stand-alone, skinnable chat client that supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, and IRC. It provides capabilities not possible with original network clients, while supporting standard features such as audio chat, file transfers, group chats, chat rooms, buddy icons, multiple simultaneous connections to the same network, server-side contact importing, typing notification, direct connection (AIM), proxy support, encrypted messaging (AIM/ICQ), SMS support, and privacy settings.

[ Cerulean Studios -> Learn about Trillian ]

In 2 weeks it will expire. We'll see then if I pony up the $25 for Trillian Pro (the only way to get Google Talk) or go back to my wicked ways.

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# Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Keep your clock correct

I've been using this on a few machines that aren't attached to a domain, and think it works pretty darn good:

Our freeware Atomic Clock Sync utility can help you keep your local computer up-to-date with the exact current time.

[ Free Atomic Clock Sync utility from worldtimeserver.com ]

Can't beat the price, either.

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# Thursday, September 01, 2005

What is Williamsburg?

From 1699 to 1780, Williamsburg was the capital of England's oldest, largest, richest, and most populous colony and the seat of power in the new nation's most influential state. It was in the shops, taverns, government buildings, homes and streets of Williamsburg that George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, George Mason, and other Virginia patriots established the ideals — liberty, independence and personal freedom — that influenced the founding of our nation and have inspired generations of Americans and others around the world.

[ Colonial Williamsburg Media FAQS - Freqently[sic] Asked Questions ]

In September of 2005 it was the site of the celebration of Yaty and David's first Anniversary (God willing). There was revelry, good food, historical lessons, and roller coasters. And the most influential state continued its influence.

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# Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Be a world citizen

Read some Tintin...

At least be familliar with the concept. Once you are done there, make certain you've heard of Asterix and Obelisk too.

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# Monday, August 29, 2005

I've switched...

to Bloglines:

Create a personal Bloglines page loaded with the freshest news about the things you love.

[ Bloglines ]

I wrote my own system, but keeping it running smoothly takes more effort and time than I can spare. Bloglines has everything I need: central control, mobile version, notification system, etc.

I've even found that exporting my subscriptions as an OPML file which can drive my "blogroll" listing on this site.

Update: Joe Grossberg has just noticed that I've switched to the Green party as well.

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# Tuesday, August 23, 2005

I want to be a scout!

I was a Boy Scout. Now I'm Muslim. Good to see that the two get along so well...

There are now all-Muslim scout packs and troops in at least 22 states, involving more than 2,000 scouts and leaders. They can be found in big cities like Chicago and Atlanta, centers of the Arab-American community such as Dearborn, Mich., and smaller towns like Pottsville, Pa., and Rochester, Minn.

[ TIME.com: Duty, Honor and Allah -- Aug. 29, 2005 ]

I do remember when working at Scout Camp, we had a Muslim troop come one year. They seemed to get along fine, just had some difficulties with the food service people and ensuring that all foods they were given were pork-free.

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# Sunday, August 14, 2005

I have joined the Tivolution

[TiVo Dude]Granted, I'm the last person to do so. TiVo claims:

Only TiVo is so smart, it's simple to use.

[ TiVo.com | What is TiVo ]

What they don't tell you is that it will take hours to set up, and you must have a phone to do so. Sure you can use a USB Wireless Access Point to do everything, but only once you've connected by phone at least twice during the setup. Luckily this connection will go over my Vonage VoIP phone line, or I'm not sure what I could do.

Another sticking point is that Comcast's lineup isn't quite right. TiVo thinks that channel 81 is G4TV, as does the Comcast website. However my TiVo device is clearly picking up G4TV on channel 99, and always has in non-digital mode.

The driving force behind my need for TiVo? I can't find my TV's remote. I had returned my Comcast digital box with DVR, since the DVR never really recorded things that I asked it to, and the digital lineup is so seldom watched in my house. My cable bill drops $30 by doing so, and makes the purchase of a TiVo and the addition of another movie in my Netflix queue almost no-brainers. However I hadn't realized what a God-send the remote control is, and how lazy humans can really be. After a few days without one I determined that I would have to purchase a TV remote or change my habits all together. Since a universal remote costs at least $15, what's another $85 for a TiVo? (and $5 for a wireless access point after rebate)...

Update: If this, somehow, inspires you to get a TiVo, you can tell them I referred you by giving them my email address "tivo [at] davidkearns [dot] com".

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Automobile Research

More and more I think a Golf TDI is in my future. I found a resource that, if it is to be believed, is very convincing:

The Volkswagen Golf TDI (Turbo Diesel) is one of the most fuel efficient cars sold in America and one of the most popular cars in Europe. I own a 2002 Golf TDI, and this page chronicles some of my experiences and impressions of this vehicle.

[ VW Golf TDI Review, Long Term Road Test, Biodiesel Information ]

My needs for a vehicle are fuel efficiency, enjoyable to drive, flexible for cargo hauls, and big enough for my family. The Golf TDI fits all of those needs, and with the exact same body as my GTI, the only question remains is it peppy and fun to drive? From what I've read, yes it is. Oh, and in our post-apocalyptic future, I would be able to run my car on vegetable oil, that's pretty cool...

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# Thursday, August 11, 2005

What is right with the Web

Sometimes a convergence of ideas and technologies come together to form something that is greater than anyone could have every imagined. This is just such a case.

Wedding Crashers Movie Preview (featuring Spongebob Squarepants)

Props: Gibson

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What can we do to stop spam?

Perhaps just come up with better guides. It took me close to 20 minutes to find any sort of site/page that had a decent explanation of forged email headers/addresses geared toward the non-technical.

e-mail forgery is easy-to-do and not unusual, and, at this point-in-time, little can be done about it

[ MFCF/CSCF Frequently Asked Questions: Dealing with Email Forgery ]

First, props to U Waterloo, I should have just checked the Canadian internets to begin with.

Second, if you are in a position to hire, make sure you hire good IT staff. Don't skimp. Really.

Third, if you are responsible for sending spam, shame on you.

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Coming soon...

I hope this one lives up to the hype in my head:

YOU ARE JOHN RAIMI, a disease-control agent with the federal government, temporarily assigned to an elite counterterrorism unit. The mission: Infiltrate the Volks Corporation in southern France and extract a sample of a mysterious biological agent. But as you creep through Volks's labyrinthine corridors, unraveling the secrets of the bioweapons program, the mission takes a horrific turn. Captured by Volks security and subjected to the corporation's gruesome experiments, your soul is wrenched from your body...

[ Geist for Nintendo GameCube ]

I haven't been playing much lately, I guess that most of my list just isn't very compelling. Zelda will be out soon, but man cannot live on Zelda alone.

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# Wednesday, August 10, 2005

I'm feeling a burning itching swelling desire...

...for crabs.

Obrycki's is located on land that was part of the original William Fell estate, in the area known as historic Fells Point. The corner building at 1729 East Pratt Street was built in 1851 and the adjoining building was built the following year.

[ Obrycki's - Steamed Crabs and Crab Cakes our Specialty ]

I've never been to Obrycki's, but I've heard through the family grapevine that there is no better place in B'more for steamed hard shell blue crabs. And, of course, there is no place in the world that could possibly make better crabs than Baltimore... TravelLady disagree, however. TravelLady also points out the surprise that Bohager's does crabs (though they might be closed), and I think that is quite the surprise. I see that Ocean Pride is in Lutherville, near my Aunt's place, so perhaps I should head for there instead...

Update: Done

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