Buying a Battery - Radio Shack Style

Ok, picture this - I walk into a Radio Shack and ask for a battery recharger for a alarm system lead free battery. It's a small brick that is used for 12 volt applications.

"You don't need a recharger for that type of battery."

"it says on the box that it can be recharged hundreds of times..."

"The alarm system charges it everyday."

"So why is the battery dead?"

"All of the recharges have been used up."

"So you're telling me this rechargeable battery can't be recharged?"

"Nope, it only recharges while it is being used."

$37.00 later, I buy the same battery and just move on...

Reminds me of the guy who ran our IT department in North Carolina - he came from a Radio Shack.

Apple Hard Drive Relic

Once every five years, I make a trek to the attic (or Mrs. WonderDawg makes me) to declutter and investigate "what's in that box?"

There's nothing better than to sit on the kitchen floor, listening to Annie Lennox and bagging up old cords, USB cables, telephone wires, RCA cables, and the like...



Check out this relic:



It's a monster DataFrame 10 MG hard drive for an old Mac 512 that ran on a addon SCSI port connection. I tried Googling the price, but I'm sure it was around $800 in the old days. I'm tempted to hook it up to see what kind of data is still on the drive, assuming it still spins. I can't even do the math on how many songs the 10MG hard drive would hold!

A Road Warrior's Dilemma

Whenever I travel, I struggle with carrying far too many clothes. I have yet to crack the code for carry on luggage. I remember on one trip my roommate packed one jacket, a pair of pants and two shirts to last five days. There’s no way I could go for that – I need to have a change of outfits at a 1.5 ratio per day! On my last trip, my luggage was delayed for two days; by then my jeans were standing straight up. Now look at this picture; granted I am on the road for an extended work trip, but I have to get a better grip on the amount of gear I carry. Do I need help or do all road worthy gadget lovers carry this much stuff?



(see the comments over at GearDiary.com

The Joy of Luggage

One thing that I need to add to my life long learning goals is grasping the reality of carryon luggage.



I already know that flying non-stop is always best. Jumping across three cities to save a few bucks on PriceLine is simply not worth the savings in time, especially when factoring layovers and delays. For instance a Southwest direct flight from Nashville to San Jose is 6:35 of travel time; via United through Chicago, to Denver to San Jose starts out at 2:15 CST arriving at 9:39 PST adding in an additional three hours and risk of delays along the way.

I went to Santa Clara for a pretty good conference on Search Engine Marketing. Learned a lot and met some great people along the way. After logistically plane jumping via United to avoid the bad weather (and Chicago's O'Hara Airport), my luggage didn't make the trip.

Dressing for comfort on a plane with a pullover fleece, white t-shirt, socks, black jeans and ratty tennis shoes doesn't generally make a favorable impression for a typical conference, especially when the clothes have to suffice for the next day. However, for a tech conference, I can safely say I was dressed better than 70% of the attendees. Not exactly comforting thoughts as I started to get a little irritated with United's process for resolving delayed / missing luggage handling.

My luggage was due to arrive at San Jose’s airport the following morning at 10:40 am. A handler then arrives at 11:00 and 12 noon to pick up the luggage and disperse them throughout to the owners. I was willing to pick up the luggage when it arrived off the flight. After 3 pm, I called the 800 number and got a call center in India. Of course, I was expecting the local airport office, but after my investigative questioning of the operator’s weather, local time and if there was a local Wal-Mart, the call center in India had no way of knowing where my bag was. I firmly, but politely requested that the bag better arrive at the Hyatt Regency soon, with the specific instruction to call my cell. Of course that didn’t happen – the luggage showed up at 5:30 pm, seven hours after arriving off the plane. I wonder what would happen if I didn’t call to escalate the ticket.

I was planning to write an article on what type of tech gear to travel with over at www. GearDiary.com. Certainly power chargers, cords, battery backups, flash drives, digital camera, iPods, etc. are necessities. I have to add to the list a complete change of clothing. I recently reviewed a Microsoft Rolling Laptop Case that has a compartment for clothing, but instead is filled with other tech items.

Utilizing UPS or FedEx to ship home all of the schwag, booklets, and reading material to reduce carrying the weight and bulk of the items in a suitcase would be a good thing as a handler can easily flag the bag for being overweight.

I simply must figure out how to pack for a 4-night/5 day stay in a carryon bag. I’m convinced it can’t be done if the goal is dress business casual.

When it doubt, poll the audience. There’s great wisdom in crowds.

Post Football Blues

When I stepped out of the office at 5-ish pm today, there was still light outside. Seeing remnants of daylight late in the afternoon definitely lifted my spirits, as the days will get longer and spring fever is just around the corner. With sunlight depravation in a closed office environment and no more NFL football, historically, the next few weeks has always been a challenge. Basketball and baseball has never held my interest.

It’s during these times when I start planning all of the outdoor activities that the spring season ushers in. A vegetable garden, carpentry projects, lawn maintenance, more outdoor photography, sunlight, no more heavy coats… I can’t wait.

Despite the fact that the Dallas Cowboys didn’t participate in the Super Bowl 42, it was nonetheless a great second half of football at its best. I about blew a gasket when my brand new DirecTV HD DVR failed on Sunday. I called tech support, and I was only getting ½ of the satellite signal on the other sets and no picture on the main HD TV setup.

After replacing the supplied defective cables with a HDMI cable, (I love having a Best Buy across the street from me) I was back in business to watch Tom Petty and the rest of the game in HD. Surely I wasn’t going to let technology get the best of me, especially on Super Bowl Sunday. DirecTV, you almost let me down and sent me in a deep funk!

Surprise in a Shoebox

One of the great joys (or curses) of being a ratpack is the absolute delight of searching for 100 watt light bulb in the garage storage shelf and accidentally stumbling upon a shoebox filled with assorted treasures. Pictures, matchbooks, ink pens, old business cards, TV remotes, a Palm Pilot with a cracked screen, and ... a Sony Watchman.



Read the rest of my Surprise in a Shoebox story at GearDiary.

Sync your mobile digital lifestyle: The Ford Focus | Sync Review

[I wrote a monster post with lots of photos over at GearDiary on the introduction of the new Ford / Microsoft Sync technology...]

GearDiary was invited to join traditional media and automobile journalists to experience the launch of the redesigned Ford Focus and Ford Sync™. Hosted in Seattle, Washington by Ford Motor Company and Microsoft, the program included significant drive time with the Focus vehicle, demonstration of the Sync technology and a visit to the Microsoft campus to view the House of the Future. Geekness and coolness personified :!: .

Sync is the newest mobile technology to emerge from the Ford-Microsoft relationship. Debuting in the 2008 Ford Focus automobile, Ford Sync is a fully integrated, flash memory-based system that allows the driver to use their Bluetooth phones hands-free. Additionally, music players such as the Zune or iPod can be controlled via voice commands and buttons mounted on the steering wheel.



Read more of the article at GearDiary.com

See the Flickr Set of the trip.

Big shout outs go to my pilot and navigator David Goodspeed of Auto World Today that I met in Seattle:



and new friends Maggie Fox and Collin Douma of Social Media Group and my Editor / Friend at GearDiary, Judie Lipsett for making this trip possible!

Ya'll R O C K !

The Items We Carry

There's a new Flickr group that will appeal to most wired readers - The Items We Carry. Check out the 500 plus photos and see how we've become beasts of burden to stay wired to the items we carry on a daily basis.



If the above photo is my daily minimum, between my SwissGear bag (for work) or the Microsoft Diplomat Rolling Laptop Case (for travel), not shown are power cords, battery packs and other "stuff" stashed away too numerous to mention!

Gear clothing like the SCOTTeVEST Ultimate Hoodie Microfleece gives guys like me more pockets to carry more gadgets. One day, I'll go retro with a notepad and pencil!

Post your photo on the Flickr group: The Items We Carry and if you wish, leave me a link in the comments so I can see what you're packing...

Work is FUN with a MacBook

You know what I'm talking about - Runs Windows too using Parallels...



or like my friend Michael says - "MacEye for the PC Guy"

Unleashed: Titans Tix for Sale

After camping out since Wednesday night - 61 hours - plus the long trek from East Tennessee, David and Judith with son Cory and daughter Courtney snagged the first single game Titans tickets that went on sale at 10:00 am.

The happy family was congratulated by Don MacLachlan, executive vice president of administration and facilities for the Titans.



Competing against the online world of Ticketmaster, the LP Field ticket office flung open six windows. Considering the line was only thirty two deep, the odds were working in favor of those in line in the 90 degree heat.

Here's John feeling the morning heat with only 2 minutes to go... after 59 hours.





The local news networks were out as well to capture the moment - WSMV, WTVF and Fox; WKRN was missing although Mitch Mitchell was out filming Friday.



Best response to the PacMan Jones drama: "It's not about one person; I'm here to support the team... and be here on game day to root for the Titans!"



With six windows opened, everyone I talked to got the game tickets they were looking for, with one person picking up four preseason tickets for Green Bay to see Brett Favre. A true cheesehead indeed.



Here's Judith and Courtney, the very first ones to exit the window and husband David talking to NewsChannelFive.



I saw a couple leave highly upset because the rule was only one person per window; apparently their ticket selection game plan wasn't in place. She was going home to get online after being spending all that time in line. Good luck with that!



As for me, I wa photographing the end of the line when I though why not step up to the window?

At 10:15 am, I picked up tickets to the Carolina Panthers and San Diego Chargers games.

Photo blogging has been very good for me!


More photos at my Flickr set

For the Love of the Game (Camping Out…)

Over the past year, I’ve been intrigued by fans camping out for high tech gear like the PlayStation3 and just recently, Apple’s iPhone. Sure there are compelling reasons to work up the nerve to ask the boss man for vacation time for such an adventure. After all, time earned off is… frankly speaking, your time off, so no one should care anyway. Most working class heroes long for an escape from the drudgery of work, socking away money in a hidden cookie jar to embrace the day – that defining day - to experience the perfect escape route to a high tech fantasy world of fighting demons, hunting down the enemy or barreling down the highway at 120 mph with the highway patrol in hot pursuit.

Controlling your exhilarating moments of victory and defeat in the PS3 or Xbox game world, I’m told makes time management unimportant. The expectations of living life in the working world comes to a standstill. Should a dragon breathe his fire and wrath upon you burning you to a crispy matchstick figure, with a simple press of the button, resetting the game and asking for a do-over is easier than forgiveness on the factory floor.

Hand eye coordination is key to winning; Apple’s iPhone requires one finger to point, swipe and open / close with thumb and pointer finger dexterity.

But there is something that I experienced first hand, up close and personal today.

Holding eight 2 ½ x 6 ½ 4 color tickets in the clutched fist of the hand close to the heart releases a rush of passionate ecstasy that no gaming system or iPhone can match.

It’s called the NFL Experience. Yes, August is upon us – here in America, real football known as the National Football League prepares to kick off to the masses of stadium filled pigskin enthusiasts. Saturday morning at 10 AM here in Nashville, Tennessee, single game tickets go on sale to the general public.



Wednesday evening, David, Judith and family made the three plus hour trek from East Tennessee into Nashville to claim the first spot in line. Two hours later at 11 PM, John and Jennifer joined them, pitching tents against the gated entrances of LP Field to secure single-game tickets for the Tennessee Titans.



I was curious as to why not go on the Internet at ticketmaster.com and secure your tickets the high tech way? Besides the usual complaints of the high service charges levied by ticketmaster and the exponential pool of competition of fans vying for the same tickets, camping out in line for three nights ensures a defined pecking order.

David and Judith have been camping out for four years.



They enjoy the camaraderie and friendships built over the years with folks like John and Jennifer. They increased their fortune this year, moving from number 82 last year to 2nd in line.



“This is our seventh year in a row that we’ve been here; I’ve even camped out for the three playoff games,” said John. “I don’t have to fool with scalpers or worry about whether the tickets are legit or not.”

His wife Jennifer has her bare feet propped upon an ice cooler in the 90-degree heat, as she should – nearly seven months pregnant, she loves Titans football.

So what does the Titans organization think about the passion exhibited by camping out?

“The Titans are great! They brought us out pizza last night, offer us a chance to cool off in the air conditioned room if it gets too hot, and even set up Port-A-Potties for us to use,” said Judith.

John added, “We even had lunch from the Titans and some businesses drop by with food, so we get to have extra food!”

Would you wait in line for a PlayStation, I asked John. “No way, you have to be crazy to camp out when two months later, you can get a PlayStation at regular price. With Titans football tickets, it’s the experience of the game day. I’m looking forward to see Indianapolis and the New York Jets play here at LP Field.”

Fans can purchase a maximum of four tickets to a maximum of two home games with prices ranging from $34 to $67 per ticket. The available pools of tickets are 2,500 tickets to each of the 8 regular season and two preseason home games.



Later, Don MacLachlan, executive vice president of administration and facilities for the Titans stopped by to check on how the campers are doing. “Yeah, he drops by, asks how we’re doing and if there is anything we need. Last year, Drew Bennett (Titans wide receiver) dropped by to talk to us. The Titans really care about their fans,” added John.

Jim Caple of ESPN sums up what I witnessed today in his article, 101 things all sports fans must experience before they die.

# 64 of 101:

Camp out for tickets (any event). If a game isn't worth investing a cold, wet night in a tent with hundreds of other rabid fans and sharing your love for a common goal, then maybe you should reassess your priorities in life.

True, so true. It’s in the game. Go Titans!


More photos at my Flickr set

What is in box # 89?

I saw a USB turntable the other day; at $100.00 I thought the included stylus would gouge the vinyl. Back in the seventies, a Stanton or Shure stylus use to cost plenty... Anyway, I went up to my attic to retrive the two or three turntables I have, but I came across some promotional record company stuff I found in box # 89.

Ahhh... the memories from the seventies / eighties - my old Warner Bros. Records marketing days - to justify / rationalize why is is never prudent to throw ANYTHING away. It's a Chinese thing I'm told repeatedly. You just have to be Chinese to understand where I'm coming from.



Top, clockwise: Talking Heads medical wristbands, a clever way to promote the album; I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand; ELO patch that I'm sending off to my dear friend in Texas; Blues Brothers pin - they were awesome in Memphis - I must find that picture of me in the Bluesmobile; Ahh yes, backstage with Bob Marley at Vandy Memorial Gym - never seen a basketball game there, but plenty of concerts; Shake It Up pin from The Cars (is Todd Rundgren part of the NEW CARS?) and yes, at one time my party affiliation was Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove ( I was Getting Down Just for the Funk of It !)



And a colored vinyl 45 from Kraftwerk - "Pocket Calculator". Great techno music to geek / drone by. A better selection is "Computer Love" which I know I have in my LP section (which is why I'm looking for my turntable).

Somewhere in the world somebody has the original art from the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.



I have a promotional meet the rutles 2 x 2 cover as a poor substitute.

Wired: I'm a Geek Cover Boy

Old timers like me back in high school will remember Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show's novelty song "The Cover Of The Rolling Stone" written by Shel Silverstein.

Whether it was tongue-in-cheek, brilliant marketing, honoring a bet or a dare, the group made the cover of Rolling Stone magazine three months later on March 29, 1973. The text next to their picture read: "What's Their Names Make The Cover."

The Cover Of The Rolling Stone

Well we're big rock singers we got golden fingers
And we're loved everywhere we go
We sing about beauty and we sing about truth
At ten thousand dollars a show
We take all kinda pills that give us all kinda thrills
But the thrill we never know
Is the thrill that'll gitcha when ya get your picture
On the cover of the Rolling Stone

Chorus:
Gonna see my picture on the cover
Gonna buy five copies for my mother
Gonna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rolling Stone

Later that same year, Todd Rundren's album "A Wizard, A True Star" came with a postcard asking for your name. Bearsville Records (Warner Bros) created a poster with all the names sent in. The poster was included in the record release of "Todd" - a 2' x 3' b/w head shot of Todd Rundgren himself, made with the names who sent in their postcard! My name is somewhere on his lower right jaw line. One day, I'll find the poster which is somewhere in my attic in a box underneath other boxes.

Thirty four years later, for a techno geek like myself, I responded to a Wired Magazine and Xerox subscriber inquiry to upload a jpeg for a custom July issue mailed directly to my mailbox:



This integrated marketing campaign was in response to Wired's July cover story on the future of personalization. All I had to do was submit my photo in time to be one of the first 5,000 Wired subscribers to participate.

Unfortunately, I can't buy five copies for my mother, but standing at the intersection of narcissism, staying humble, digital technology and interactive marketing, I can say with all due respect "I now know the thrill that'll gitcha when ya get your picture on the cover of Wired Magazine."

(I'll throw this in a box and look for it thiry four years later!)

For more, see NY Times article

iPhone - who's on?

Get this widget!

I'm looking forward to the launch of the iPhone - Sure the value proposition is nowhere near the hype - if I wanted to buy a separate iPod and continue using either my Blackjack or Treos, the deal is better - but I am curious who will be in line to snag the new iPhones on Day One. Whether I myself hold one in my hands remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: I'll have my camera ready just in case I see any folks camping out overnight.

Some headlines:

M:Metrics reports that consumer awareness of the iPhone is strong--64 percent of Americans are aware of the iPhone as are 56 percent of Brits.

- Fierce Wireless

And from TechWireless:

So, you want an iPhone, do you? I can't blame you, we've only been talking about the thingevery single day for the last few months here at DailyTechRag. As we've mentioned, however, there aren't likely to be enough iPhones on shelves to meet demand come the 29th, so you might want to start planning out your strategy for the launch now. Here are some helpful tips:

The iPhone will only be available at company-owned AT&T retail stores, Apple stores and on Apple's website.

Just because a store sports AT&T/Cingular signage, doesn't mean that it's company-owned. There are only about 1,800 company-owned retail stores in the U.S., so confirm with your intended point of pick-up ahead of time or use this store locator (look for stores that are not labeled as "AT&T authorized retailers").

While Apple has officially barred resellers from taking iPhone pre-orders, a lot of AT&T stores have set up wait lists anyway. Stop by your local store and find out if they have a list--act fast, as many of these lists are already filling up.

You'll need an iTunes account to set up your iPhone, so make sure that you have one set up ahead of time.

Really want an iPhone? If you can't get on a wait list, your best bet is probably camping out outside of an AT&T store (Apple stores will reportedly have fewer units on the 29th). Hey, no one ever said this was going to be easy.

ZDNet The great iPhone hunt of 2007

Stuff I learn by listening

I learned some cool tech stuff today just by asking a simple question: "What are you passionate about?"

For instance I learned:

If I liked listening to XM Radio on my Cingular Blackjack phone, then AOL Radio is a free app that works also on the Mac. (via Don)

If I wanted to print wirelessly with a traditional printer then there is a print server that accepts non USB printers. (via Susan)

When buying a SLR camera, take your existing lens and shop for a camera body first that can accept what you have on hand. (via Sharon)

My contribution back: Talking about a Slingbox which I will demo at a upcoming Nashville Palm User's Group June 9th.

What are you passionate about?

A headline you might have missed...

Google Builds Team in Quest to Conquer China



If you can't beat them with weapons of mass destruction, then entice them with free Gmail accounts and web searches. Works for me.

The importance of China to Google should not be underestimated. China has around 150 million people online and is expected to have more broadband users than the United States in the next 12-24 months.

via: TechCrunch

I Am Not Worthy!

I turned kinda old May 8th... well let me explain:

Some people I talk to think that I look much younger than my true age; when I tell Mrs. WonderDawg that I was engaged in a conversation with someone that thought I was thirty or so, she just looks at me with an incredulous response, "So, what teenager have you been talking to today?"

I was recently strolling down Broadway, when I was summoned by R2-D2 or "Artoo" to take a knee and recieve a gift from a really cool friend in Texas (who will go unnamed, but my friend is a very giving person of their time, talents and humor!)


(click the picture to embiggen)

To my amazement, the gift bestowed upon me straight from R2-D2's belly is a LEGO Star Wars Imperial Star Destroyer with 1366 pieces! Note that ages 9 - 14 can build this LEGO kit. Obviously, I'm young enough to handle this gift with care.

Look for a unboxing posting soon as I build this Imperial Star Destroyer now that all of the season ending TV shows are wrappng up. All of a sudden, I find myself with ten extra hours a week to focus my eyesballs elsewhere.

I will cherish this gift always - thank you, thank you, thank you, my friend - I am not worthy!

Two choices for July 4th...

I've got two choices on my July calendar...

Spend the night in front of a Cingular store waiting for the iPhone (probably not)

(fast forward to the future for the iPhone unboxing)

or....

see this movie! (probably will)

The new Transformers trailer...

The World I Live In

This explains the world I live in... (not that there's anything wrong with it!)
I wish I knew the source!

(Click to embiggen)

Gadget lust discipline

I was at Best Buy Sunday when I saw ten Nintendo Wii's for sale - I took one step forward and two steps back...

"Do I really need to spend $249.00 NOW" on an impluse buy?

When would I ever get the time to play?

and... I think playing the Wii involves exercise...

Megan can tell you all about it, so for now that works for me!