Up until now, though I’m a huge Apple fan and user since as far back as I can remember computers, I’ve always wanted the latest and greatest from them. From my Macintosh SE 1/20, to my StyleWriter II, from the Apple QuickTake which I managed to borrow from school often, to the Newton 2000 I owned and loved, the early and very thick PowerBooks and beyond, I always either had, used someone else’s, or wanted Apple’s products.
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Filed under: gadgets, internet, products, review, technology | No Comments »

As much as I love driving, I HATE traffic jams. Here’s a collection of all sorts of traffic jams from around the world. Interesting how some places keep orderly files, while other turn into asphalt labyrinths. Enjoy!

 


 
Click “Read More” for the rest of the traffic jam pictures
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Here is a collection of funny signs. Enjoy!

If you like these, cllick on the following to see more funny signs:
Toilet Signs From Around The World
Funny Road Signs
Funny Signs - Part 2
Funny Signs - Part 3
Funny Signs - Part 4 - Bad Translations Special I
Funny Signs - Part 5 - Bad Translations Special II
 


 


 


 


 


 


 

Liked these? Click on the following to see more funny signs:
Toilet Signs From Around The World
Funny Road Signs
Funny Signs - Part 2
Funny Signs - Part 3
Funny Signs - Part 4 - Bad Translations Special I
Funny Signs - Part 5 - Bad Translations Special II

Filed under: automotive, funny, humor, joke | 4 Comments »

It is hard to believable that its the end of the first quarter of 2008, and Nintento Wiis are still nowhere to be found in stock. Amazing. Unnaceptable.

Fortunately, I was pointed to www.wiialerts.com by a friend. If you want to buy a Wii anytime before the ice caps melt, the sun runs out of energy, or a 5 star all inclusive resort opens on the moon, I suggest you visit them! (provided you are in the United States, or if the sites offering it sell internationally - I know big sites like Amazon do, just be sure to check the details)

Through the wiialerts website you can set up mobile phone alerts, as well as a live webpage which alerts you at the precise instant a Nintendo Wii or bundle goes in stock on any number of websites and merchants. All you have to do is quickly rush to the computer, click on the link, add to cart and buy. But you need to do this quickly, because sometimes the inventory goes in a matter of minutes, if not seconds!

It only took 6 days from the time I set up the alerts to the box arriving. Much better than stories I heard from friends and other people who line up and wait hours for in store inventory, wouldn’t you agree?

The service is completely free, and in my opinion, the folks at wiialerts.com more than deserve the commission they get from my purchase. Its a great service, and they can have it! In a world where making money online is becoming more and more accessible I have no problem giving money to a site/service that actually works and does what its supposed to do (specially since the price doesn’t change for me, the commission comes out of the sale price and the merchant takes the hit!).

I will be giving the Wii to my wife in a few minutes. She has no idea its coming. I plan to write a review and impressions about the system. I haven’t played with a Wii yet and really look forward to it! Wiiiiiiiiiiiii!

Filed under: gadgets, internet, products, review | No Comments »

WARNING — GEEK ALERT!

I’m about 270 miles from home, visiting my wife’s college friend, but this isn’t the only context in which I enjoy this set up. I use it whenever I travel on business and whenever we’re away from home.

My set up consists of the following:

At Home:
A DirecTV DVR (http://www.directv.com)- My personal preference is TiVo, but DirecTV switched to their own proprietary hardware/software. While the current version is much better than the original, I would still go with TiVo if I had a choice, but I don’t. But its a DVR and it works well.

A Slingbox (http://www.slingmedia.com/go/slingbox)- Sitting on top of the DirecTV box is this little gem. For those who aren’t familiar with it, its basically a device that connects to your satellite receiver, cable box, DVD player or any other audiovisual source and broadcasts/streams the signal over the Internet. The player software can be installed on any computer, and you can control any device (watch, record, pause, etc.) as if you were at home, using ’soft remotes’, regardless if you are in a different room, a different city, or different continent.

On The Road:
MacBook Pro (http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/)- I never leave home without it! On it, besides all the usual goodies, I have the Slingbox player, which allows me to control the devices I have at home. I can watch live TV, (though I don’t like, hate, despise commercials) or my recorded shows. All I need is an Internet connection. Even if connection speed is far from optimal, the software buffers and adjusts to produce a great quality image, and most importantly, video and audio are always synchronized - I have when its off sync.

Linksys Portable Router (WTR54GS) - A small life saver in my backpack (see my backpack). Plug this device in anywhere where you have wired Internet access and you’ll create your own wireless network. I’ve used this device wherever I go, when in need of wireless access or if there are too many people and not enough ports. Even when there’s a wireless network up, and nobody seems to remember the WEP password, just grab a port in the back of the router and voila! You have a wireless network & Internet access.

So there you have it! I love my gadgets. That’s how I’m online now - writing this post and watching TV from back home, skipping through advertising and enjoying my shows. Geek Happy.

Filed under: TV, gadgets, internet, products, review, technology | 1 Comment »

Here’s on the of the best, or at least the cutest, rendition I’ve seen of The Beatles’ Hey Jude!

Filed under: funny, humor, music | No Comments »

This is one of my favorite kinds of illusion. If you recall, in one of the first posts of the series there a was Charlie Chaplin illusion. In it, when the mask mask rotated to the back side it appeared to be concave and bulge forward.

Here’s a similar illusion by www.coolopticalillusions.com, using the same technique, where the object is actually reversed but given the perspective, construction and coloring the effect is amazing.

You’ll find that the house appears to move and the perspective appears to change all because your brain is actually perceiving the house as if it was ’sticking out’, when in reality its not. A picture video is worth a thousand words!

 Enjoy and be sure to check out the rest of the series:

Optical Illusions - Collection Page

Filed under: Art, Optical Illusions | 2 Comments »

The following is a collection of perspective and perception illusions. Enjoy!
 

The Arcs

These two arcs, believe it or not are the same exact size and shape.

Color Shift Effect

Though you eyes don’t want to see it, A & B are the same shade of gray.

Monsters

These two monsters are exactly the same size. The effect is created by the perspective of the floor and the walls of the cave.

The Ruler

These two segments on the ruler are both 4 cm long, however the arrowheads make it seem like the segment on the left is shorter, when they are in reality the same length.

The Tabletops

This illusion is one of my favorites. Can you believe the two table tops are exactly the same size and shape? The perspective and rotation create the illusion that one is longer and narrower. To prove it, take it into Photoshop, or simply print the page, cut the tabletops and align them. Incredible, isn’t it?

Red & Black

Because of the coloring and pattern on this graphic it appears that there are black lines running perpendicular to the red ones, but there’s nothing there. In addition, it seems like the red color is darker where the imaginary black lines intersect them, but again, its only an illusion in your brain!

Wavy Distrotion

All of the shapes in this graphic are perfect squares. Due to the coloring and placement they appear to be distorted and moving. Quite an illusion!

Straight Lines

The patterns make the red lines appear distorted, but they are perfectly straight and parallel.

Perfect Squares

The wavy pattern of the background tricks our brain to see these distortion in these squares, but in fact they are totally straight, and concentric.

Incredible Arrows

This motion illusion is from www.coolopticalillusions.com.

 
Enjoy and be sure to check out the rest of the series:

Optical Illusions - Collection Page

Filed under: Art, Optical Illusions | No Comments »

Here’s a funny series of shots of a cocker spaniel enjoying a car ride

Filed under: Great Photos, animals, dogs, pets | 1 Comment »

Ever felt like you were stuck in one of these? Its one of those weeks, and I’m really looking forward to the weekend.

I also feel a little like this:

Unsure of the source of these. I found them here:
http://j-walkblog.com/blog/docs/platform2.htm