Morning Cup O' Joe

Time you enjoy wasting isn't wasted time.

Green Lasers and DLP Graffiti

Simple concept. Awesome execution… check out the video.

February 20, 2007 Posted by Mike | Geeks and Gadgetry, Oddities, Science and Technology | 1 Comment

Google’s Hard Drive Survey

Google’s File System is based off of a redundant array of thousands (maybe even millions) of off-the-shelf computer systems each of which having multiple hard drives.  You figure that they have amazing statistics on hard drive failure patterns.

You’d be right.  Let’s learn from Google. :) You can read a summary here if you don’t want to read the entire study.

February 20, 2007 Posted by Mike | Geeks and Gadgetry, Science and Technology | 3 Comments

Antenna Web

I’ve been cable-free for nearly 2 years now, but that hasn’t stopped me from keeping up to date with the latest and greatest TV shows.  One thing I haven’t considered until now was to actually buy an antenna and see what’s broadcast over-the-air (OTA).

ninjaMike pointed me to an awesome website: http://www.antennaweb.org

You input your address and it will tell you:

  • Which channels are available over the air (digital and analog)
  • How far you are from the broadcast antenna
  • Which kind of antenna you should get to maximize your signal
  • A map showing which direction to point your antenna

I found a nice antenna at Best Buy for $26.  Having that and my recently reacquisitioned Series 2 Tivo (with a Lifetime Account from 2001) sure beats shelling out $60/month for cable.  I’m going to squeeze every last drop out of this that I can. ;)

February 20, 2007 Posted by Mike | Geeks and Gadgetry, How-To, Television | 1 Comment

Vintage Cars Found in Old Barn

Imagine buying some property, finding an old, sealed-up barn, and opening up said barn to find about 180 vintage cars in it.

Here’s the story.

Here’s the full slideshow.

February 20, 2007 Posted by Mike | News, Oddities, Photography | 5 Comments

Nintendo’s Koji Kondo Performing in San Francisco

For any of you in the Bay Area, specifically @ Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco, March 9th @ 8pm, you might want to check out this event.

I’ve seen Koji Kondo perform the New Super Mario Bros. theme song on piano live at the Play! concert at the Rosemont Theater in Illinois last year.  It was pretty awesome.  I guess we made it to the kick-off performance of the grand tour since a bunch of big names were there.  Pretty much all the major video game music composers were there, including the man himself, Nobuo Uematsu (composer for most of the Final Fantasy games).  I was definitely star-struck that night.

Anyway, if anyone can check it out, you can buy tickets here.  Let us know how it goes!

February 20, 2007 Posted by Mike | Events, Games and Gaming, Music | Comments Off

10 Don’t Miss Tax Breaks

For those of you (like me) who haven’t done their taxes yet, you might benefit from some easy tax-breaks.  Here’s a list of 10 that could save you a buck or two:

  1. Get back your phone tax
  2. Take credit for being efficient
  3. Write off the nanny
  4. Get money back for saving
  5. A break for self-employed savers
  6. Deduct Money Magazine
  7. Pick your state tax
  8. Save on tuition
  9. Real estate tax deduction
  10. Save on 529 savings

Check out the original article for a detailed explanation.

February 20, 2007 Posted by Mike | How-To | 1 Comment

Fix Your Finances in 31 Days

The Simple Dollar has a great post on how to organize your finances in 31 days.  After a quick browse through the post, I find most of the items fall into the realm of common sense.  What I like most, though, is how everything is spread out evenly over a month’s time so as not to overwhelm the participant.

March has 31 days.  A perfect time to start! :)

February 20, 2007 Posted by Mike | How-To | Comments Off

Windows Vista “DreamScene”

 

Bash Windows Vista all you want but you have to admit… this is cool! 

Full Motion Video as your Wallpaper

February 20, 2007 Posted by xraytech | Geeks and Gadgetry, Software | 18 Comments