So, Thomas Jefferson is on a $2 bill. This was the Caribou trivia question this morning and I got it wrong. It's been awhile since I've seen a $2 bill. I would have guessed Cleveland or Roosevelt or a little less famous or remembered president. And isn't Jefferson on a nickel too? Of course Washington is on a quarter and a dollar, and Lincoln is on a penny and a $5 bill. Maybe we need better presidential distribution on our money??? Of course if they phase out pennies and replace dollar bills with coins, maybe it will all even out :)
This led me to this interesting site with nice pictures of all the money: http://elementaryteacher.wordpress.com/2007/08/11/whos-on-the-money/ - seriously we had a $100,000 bill? What in the world would that have ever been used for? And why did 50-cent pieces and dollar coins never take off? I know the original dollar coins were way too big, but the new gold ones seem like they should have worked.
And as I was walking in to Caribou, I had another random thought - what do toll free numbers really mean in this day and age? With cell phones everything is toll free (what matters are your minutes). Why do we even have local and long distance anymore, now that this all runs over computers and fiber-optic networks?
In other news...it's really time for spring, yesterday and today felt really cold. Stargate SG-1 is awesome, I just finished season 1...and the good part is there are 10 seasons!
And finally...I can officially say this out loud now...the project I've been working on for quite awhile at work was officially announced yesterday and will be generally available for sale on Friday. Official Announcement. While this isn't a product that someone will walk into Best Buy and pick up a copy of, it's still quite exciting for me, because it's the first real product I've been a part of in the almost 13 years I've been here.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Time-shifting our lives
I had some time to hang out at Dunn Bros and catch up on some reading. Most magazines these days are just fluff, usually covering the latest buzzword or topic (which they'll come out against 3 months from now) but yesterday, "Time" had an interesting article about the way communication has evolved in recent years.
It first talked about how Skype pretty much allows us to do the sort of thing we all thought we'd be doing 30 years ago - being able to see as well as hear someone when talking to them, in real time. But for the most part we've all decided we don't want that. Sure, it's got its uses - for families who live far apart it allows a grandparent to see a grandchild over the internet, or for soliders overseas they can visually their families regularly.
But on the whole, we've all moved to "time-shifting" our lives. It's apparent in things like TiVo, DVRs, on-demand, etc. where we can watch something when we want to, not on some network's schedule. But we do it with our communication too. How many of us actually talk on the telephone most of the time? I know at work the telephone is usually a last resort in favor of IM, email, etc. unless it's a phone conference meeting. And we're all doing it in our personal lives too - how many times have you had a conversation over text messaging over a period of a half hour that could have probably been one minute on the phone? Or email back and forth a similar conversation? Or IM? And the thing is, we all really prefer it this way, because it gives us control over our single greatest resource - our time. Sure, it is sometimes annoying if you need to know something right away, waiting for that response, but in general we all seem to want things this way and are willing to tolerate the occasional delay in a needed response for the non-intrusivity of being able to reply on our schedule.
Certainly talking on the phone isn't going to go away, and sometimes texting actually gets in the way of what we're actually doing in real life (you've all been around that person you're hanging out with, talking with, etc. that is texting every 30 seconds and not paying attention to what they're actually doing), but I know when I read this article and actually sat down and thought about, I had to admit this is the way I like it.
It first talked about how Skype pretty much allows us to do the sort of thing we all thought we'd be doing 30 years ago - being able to see as well as hear someone when talking to them, in real time. But for the most part we've all decided we don't want that. Sure, it's got its uses - for families who live far apart it allows a grandparent to see a grandchild over the internet, or for soliders overseas they can visually their families regularly.
But on the whole, we've all moved to "time-shifting" our lives. It's apparent in things like TiVo, DVRs, on-demand, etc. where we can watch something when we want to, not on some network's schedule. But we do it with our communication too. How many of us actually talk on the telephone most of the time? I know at work the telephone is usually a last resort in favor of IM, email, etc. unless it's a phone conference meeting. And we're all doing it in our personal lives too - how many times have you had a conversation over text messaging over a period of a half hour that could have probably been one minute on the phone? Or email back and forth a similar conversation? Or IM? And the thing is, we all really prefer it this way, because it gives us control over our single greatest resource - our time. Sure, it is sometimes annoying if you need to know something right away, waiting for that response, but in general we all seem to want things this way and are willing to tolerate the occasional delay in a needed response for the non-intrusivity of being able to reply on our schedule.
Certainly talking on the phone isn't going to go away, and sometimes texting actually gets in the way of what we're actually doing in real life (you've all been around that person you're hanging out with, talking with, etc. that is texting every 30 seconds and not paying attention to what they're actually doing), but I know when I read this article and actually sat down and thought about, I had to admit this is the way I like it.
The Longshots
Just finished watching The Longshots on Showtime, a movie about the first girl to play in the Pop Warner little league football Super Bowl. I freely admit that I am a sports movie addict. And in fact, there are two things guaranteed to get me teary-eyed. Not love stories, or involved dramas...no, it's sports movies where the underdog team wins and commercials about animal shelters or animal abuse (ever since I became the proud dad of two little kitties).
When my friend Tony Hooper was up to visit and we went skiing, we spent several chair lift rides comparing our favorites (he's an addict too). This one was quite good - in fact it might have made my top 10, which is saying something. So I thought I'd try to actually list them here:
I really literally could not work this weekend because our development cluster is down for maintenance. After several months of finishing up a release, it was good to have a little forced down time.
Saturday morning I had a substitute bell practice since we were canceled due to weather on Tuesday. This group - the high school quartet - made its debut this morning and was fantastic! (Our newest pastor was also installed this morning, so a great morning all around!) Oh...and anyone who lives in Rochester, I hope you got to see the trees Saturday morning - perfectly coated in show...it was really pretty (didn't take a picture!)
Saturday afternoon was the first practice for the show "Gypsy" pit orchestra, which I'm going to be doing half the shows in. The shows run Thurs-Sun all weekends in March, and the Rochester Civic Theater always does a great job. The music looks fun.
After church today, I came home and did a long overdue chore - cleaned the lint out of the dryer exhaust pipe and vent. It wasn't actually all that bad, I was expecting worse...but still needed to be done.
Finally, a Happy Valentines Day to all - whether coupled or single, I think everyone can take the day and appreciate and remember the people in our life that we love.
When my friend Tony Hooper was up to visit and we went skiing, we spent several chair lift rides comparing our favorites (he's an addict too). This one was quite good - in fact it might have made my top 10, which is saying something. So I thought I'd try to actually list them here:
- 61* - by far my all-time favorite, about Roger Maris's drive to the home run record. I wish that had been a more main-stream movie, it was fantastic
- Rudy - I still cry like a baby when he sacks that QB at the end
- A League of Their Own - just had everything
- Rookie of the Year - this is the movie I watch whenever I have a bad dream, watch a scary movie, can't sleep, or am just in a bad mood
- Hoosiers - you can't get more underdog winning the big one than this one
- The Replacements - I'm sure I'll get all sorts of flack from people on this one but I LIKED IT!
- Major League - and I wish they had just stopped at 1 and not done sequels :(
- Happy Gilmore - can't even count how many times I've watched this one
- Necessary Roughness
- Varsity Blues
- The Sandlot
- Air Bud (the original)
- Angels in the Outfield
I really literally could not work this weekend because our development cluster is down for maintenance. After several months of finishing up a release, it was good to have a little forced down time.
Saturday morning I had a substitute bell practice since we were canceled due to weather on Tuesday. This group - the high school quartet - made its debut this morning and was fantastic! (Our newest pastor was also installed this morning, so a great morning all around!) Oh...and anyone who lives in Rochester, I hope you got to see the trees Saturday morning - perfectly coated in show...it was really pretty (didn't take a picture!)
Saturday afternoon was the first practice for the show "Gypsy" pit orchestra, which I'm going to be doing half the shows in. The shows run Thurs-Sun all weekends in March, and the Rochester Civic Theater always does a great job. The music looks fun.
After church today, I came home and did a long overdue chore - cleaned the lint out of the dryer exhaust pipe and vent. It wasn't actually all that bad, I was expecting worse...but still needed to be done.
Finally, a Happy Valentines Day to all - whether coupled or single, I think everyone can take the day and appreciate and remember the people in our life that we love.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Some Nintendo nostalgia...
http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/27918
This video is probably done by some sort of emulator package...I guess the point wasn't how they did it, but for those of us who played video games growing up in the late 80s and early 90s, Tecmo Super Bowl was the pinnacle of all sports games out at the time. Even the Legend of Zelda cannot match how many hours I probably played Tecmo Super Bowl - and to this day, when I get together with my friends Paul and Jeremy from high school, we still haul out the ancient NES and play again.
The simplicity and (at least at the time) graphics and control of the game made it a great game - and having the actual NFL players names made it more fun too. The game had some flaws - it wasn't too long before everyone knew how to "dive the middle" if you had a good defensive nose tackle, interceptions were not as easy as the first game but still seemed somewhat random, there were a few "cheat" plays where it was really impossible to defend the receiver if you did it right, and you could make ridiculously long field goals. But overall it still provided hours of entertainment and was one of the few games that you could really play multiplayer and enjoy it.
It was also a game that was really hard to find at the store for about a year - they apparently didn't realize how successful it was going to be, and didn't make enough to start with. My friend Jeremy and I were at Oak View mall in Omaha and happened to be walking by the video game store as they were unpacking the box of Tecmo Super Bowl's, and I quick ran to the ATM and withdrew $50 (the game was $45 which in 1990 was a lot more than it is now, and at 16 I didn't have as many $45 chunks of money laying around to spend either!), ran back in a bought a copy. For months I had all sorts of new best friends who wanted to borrow it because they couldn't find a copy :)
So, Tecmo Super Bowl, I salute you for all the fun you provided to so many of us!
This video is probably done by some sort of emulator package...I guess the point wasn't how they did it, but for those of us who played video games growing up in the late 80s and early 90s, Tecmo Super Bowl was the pinnacle of all sports games out at the time. Even the Legend of Zelda cannot match how many hours I probably played Tecmo Super Bowl - and to this day, when I get together with my friends Paul and Jeremy from high school, we still haul out the ancient NES and play again.
The simplicity and (at least at the time) graphics and control of the game made it a great game - and having the actual NFL players names made it more fun too. The game had some flaws - it wasn't too long before everyone knew how to "dive the middle" if you had a good defensive nose tackle, interceptions were not as easy as the first game but still seemed somewhat random, there were a few "cheat" plays where it was really impossible to defend the receiver if you did it right, and you could make ridiculously long field goals. But overall it still provided hours of entertainment and was one of the few games that you could really play multiplayer and enjoy it.
It was also a game that was really hard to find at the store for about a year - they apparently didn't realize how successful it was going to be, and didn't make enough to start with. My friend Jeremy and I were at Oak View mall in Omaha and happened to be walking by the video game store as they were unpacking the box of Tecmo Super Bowl's, and I quick ran to the ATM and withdrew $50 (the game was $45 which in 1990 was a lot more than it is now, and at 16 I didn't have as many $45 chunks of money laying around to spend either!), ran back in a bought a copy. For months I had all sorts of new best friends who wanted to borrow it because they couldn't find a copy :)
So, Tecmo Super Bowl, I salute you for all the fun you provided to so many of us!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Random Wednesday catchup
I don't mind the new Facebook changes and I appear to be in the minority.
Thanks to DJ for this one - "How to store and organize cats"
I may get this shirt - "Big Bang Theory" is definitely now one of my all-time favorite comedy shows :)
Thanks to DJ for this one - "How to store and organize cats"
I may get this shirt - "Big Bang Theory" is definitely now one of my all-time favorite comedy shows :)
Monday, February 1, 2010
Books & Shelves
One of my new year's resolutions this year was to read one book a month (it was last year too and I did better but I didn't quite make it - but I did get myself going to the library more). When I was younger I used to read all sorts of books, mostly fiction. I even read all 1000+ pages of "Gone With the Wind" (it was good!) and sadly made it through "Where the Red Fern Grows", a book I probably couldn't read now that I actually have my own pets. During college and when I started working, I read the entire series of "Star Wars" post-Jedi books, probably 40+ of them.
But somewhere along the way I stopped reading fiction and have gotten hooked on technical, self-help, self-improvement, and biography (along the lines of self-improvement) books. Some of that is because of work, but I actually decided yesterday as I was reading another one that I think I find them entertaining and that I should stop feeling so bad about reading them :) The one I'm currently reading is called "Influence Without Authority" by Allan Cohen and James Bradford. Slightly dated, but it was interesting to read about the concepts of getting work done in a matrix organization, which most of us work in now, where there isn't a clear "chain of command". It was especially interesting when I am reading and think "oh yeah I do that" and "yeah that's common sense" - I learned new stuff too but nice to see I'm doing some things right already :)
I also did all the measuring and cutting for a new pantry we're putting into the little-used closet we have in the laundry room - when we added laundry room cabinets we were able to put all the laundry supplies in those, and the closet sits empty. It has a coat rack but the coat closet in the main hallway is so big that we'll never fill it up. So...pantry here we come!
But somewhere along the way I stopped reading fiction and have gotten hooked on technical, self-help, self-improvement, and biography (along the lines of self-improvement) books. Some of that is because of work, but I actually decided yesterday as I was reading another one that I think I find them entertaining and that I should stop feeling so bad about reading them :) The one I'm currently reading is called "Influence Without Authority" by Allan Cohen and James Bradford. Slightly dated, but it was interesting to read about the concepts of getting work done in a matrix organization, which most of us work in now, where there isn't a clear "chain of command". It was especially interesting when I am reading and think "oh yeah I do that" and "yeah that's common sense" - I learned new stuff too but nice to see I'm doing some things right already :)
I also did all the measuring and cutting for a new pantry we're putting into the little-used closet we have in the laundry room - when we added laundry room cabinets we were able to put all the laundry supplies in those, and the closet sits empty. It has a coat rack but the coat closet in the main hallway is so big that we'll never fill it up. So...pantry here we come!
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