Category: Other
April 28, 2008
Consume or Produce: Reflections on an Earlier Post
Eugenio just read one of Clay Shirky's recent articles, Gin, Television, and Social Surplus, and said it reminded him of a piece I posted here a little over three years ago:
The Great Decision: Consume or Produce
January 29, 2005Every time I sit down at a PC and every time I walk into my office at work, I'm struck with a fundamental decision: consume or produce.
I'm talking about information. Any minute can be reasonably and justifiably spent either consuming information, such as reading research papers, news sites, emails, blogs, etc., or producing new information, such as writing my own papers, putting up blog entries, leaving comments on blogs (hint, hint), composing an email, and so on.
Some people are very content to be primarily, if not entirely, consumers. They feel little or no need to share their knowledege, opinions, and thoughts with others. Some are more biased in the opposite direction, churning out an unending stream of content. ...
What's particularly serendipitous about Eugenio's note is that I recently signed up for Twitter and have been trying to figure out it can be the most useful as a communication tool. Twitter, as you likely know, is much more about production than consumption -- it makes creating and distributing tiny bits of information almost frictionless, thereby further increasing the load on us as consumers.
This is still an issue I struggle with every day. I doubt I'll ever resolve it.
Posted by Craig in Internet
and Other
and Popular Media
and Society / Politics
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March 8, 2008
Quote of the Moment
"No one has ever had an idea in a dress suit."
- Sir Frederick G. Banting
Canadian physician
Posted by Craig in Other
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GearBits is 5 Years Old!
Wow...I didn't realize that I've been doing this for five years now until just a few days ago. Seems like those humble beginnings weren't nearly that long ago.
I'm not really sure how you're supposed to celebrate the fifth birthday of a blog. Suggestions are welcome. In the interim, here are some notable lessons from the past five years:
1) If you post a complaint about a big company, the comments can get out of hand.
2) Some things that look interesting actually turn out to be interesting, while others don't go very far.
3) People don't follow directions.
4) Sometimes blogging is totally cathartic, but pressure to produce can sap the enjoyment right out of it.
5) It seems like a lot of people yearn for the TV of their youth.
6) Sometimes my predictions are pretty on-target; sometimes they're way, way off-base.
7) Comment and trackback spam sucks.
8) And finally, I admire those out there who can run consistently high-quality blogs (unlike this one). The effort needed to keep churning out excellent content is far from trivial, and to do it well requires gobs of both skill and sweat.
I'd like to thank Mitch, Ken, and Sam for their help in the early days of GearBits. It was fun blogging as part of a team. Maybe Bob's recent arrival will return some of that youthful exuberance.
Posted by Craig in Other
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March 6, 2008
On Motivation
I've been thinking a lot, lately, about what drives us to do what we do. I don't mean extreme acts of aggression and violence, like murder-suicides or throwing puppies off a cliff; research into mental illness is ongoing and I'm sure they're making progress. No, what I'm talking about is what drives us to strive for the new, the creative, the innovative, the special, the different, the excellent...I think you get what I'm after.
Sociologists and psychologists have identified a few drivers: social desirability, peer pressure, perceived performance expectations, and so forth. All those concepts rely heavily on external pressure; our views of what other people do and how they see us cause us to behave in a certain way.
But what about inherent drive? What about a personal impetus that wells up from deep within one's psyche? What about an innate need for creating something new, different, better?
I don't know if I have that, frankly. But sometimes I feel utterly compelled to veer off my rationally-constructed to-do list and do something spontaneous, in search of a moment of pure...what is it...pride? Is it pride? I hope it's not that shallow.
Is it just the excitement of not knowing what will happen? Perhaps. In a normal day, most of my time lately seems to be spent on activities where I know the outcome. A reviewed journal article. An attended meeting. An emptied dishwasher. A made bed. Maybe it is the potential for escaping the mundane that drives these fits of irrational and unplanned exuberance.
But why not just read something new and interesting? What drives us to create when we could otherwise consume? What motivates our inner sense of satisfaction that comes only from producing something that has not existed before?
I am curious about this. But I have no answers tonight. Maybe tomorrow.
Posted by Craig in Other
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March 5, 2008
A Poetic Form for the Digital Era: Iambic Txtameter
Today's youths will spend most of their lives using their phones as their primary means of communication. Txting will likely continue to be a popular medium, yet many fear this will cause a decline in this generation's literary consciousness.
Perhaps we just need to adapt the forms to fit the medium. As an exercise, I have attempted what I think are perhaps the first examples of poetry in iambic txtameter. This new form uses iambs (or metrical feet having the pattern da DA, as in "request" and "corrupt") and is constrained by the 160-character limit of common text messages. How one organizes the 160 characters depends on the number of iambs in each line, but it would seem to make sense that each line should have the same number of characters (just to make it challenging). Here are a couple of examples:
With 5 iambs (40 characters) per line:
Forego the mission and behold the truth!
You cannot hide inside a church of youth
There is but one objective we can claim:
To coexist, with neither fear nor blame.
With 3 iambs (20 characters) per line:
oh wht a dreary day!
teh sky is very gray
ono! it strts 2 rain
and i get wet again!
this sux i am so mad
i really hate my dad
he took away my fone
and now i feel alone
No, they're not good poems, but maybe the format will catch on. After all, if all some budding poet has on him is his phone when the muse strikes, this may be the most he can do with it.
p.s. Yes, I suppose you could go with trochaic txtameter as well...knock yourself out. :-)
Posted by Craig in Other
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New GearBits Author: Bob Nonnenkamp
It's my great pleasure to welcome a new voice to GearBits: Bob Nonnenkamp. Bob's a good friend, a technology wunderkind, both professionally and personally, and is gifted with an eternally inquisitive spirit, so he tends to think up and try lots of cool stuff. The hope is that some of it eventually makes its way here to GearBits.
So check out his author bio and keep an eye out for Bob's posts; I'm sure they'll be interesting.
Posted by Craig in Other
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March 3, 2008
The Zoo Game: Homebrew Board Game for Young Children
My daughter, who's 3 now, and I have discovered that we enjoy making board games together. She enjoyed Candy Land and Chutes & Ladders, but tired of them quickly. So, we decided to try and make our own using stuff around the house. After two pretty successful (i.e., she still enjoys playing them a few months later) games, we attempted our most ambitious one yet: The Zoo Game. It's fun, cost all of $8 to make, and, after spending two hours putting it together, we've spent several hours playing different versions of it. So, I thought I'd document it here in case anyone else with little kids wanted a starting point for making their own game.
Constructing The Zoo Game
The Zoo Game is your basic roll-a-die-and-move-around-the-board-trying-to-accomplish-things type of boardgame. The theme is, obviously, a zoo, and the general objective is visiting the animals in the zoo. Here's a photo of the board as we constructed it, set up and ready for play:
Around the periphery of the board are the animal cards. We made 4 cards for each of the 10 animals at our zoo (you can have as many or as few animals as you like) by cutting 3"x5" index cards in half. Each animal card has on it a sticker of the animal it represents (we bought two packs of animal stickers for $1.99 each...yeah, Michael's is expensive, but they have everything). I tried to make the animal cards look like Polaroids (R.I.P.), to suggest that we're going around the park taking pictures of the animals, but you can give them whatever treatment you like. We're planning on writing things about the different animals on the backs of the cards -- things a toddler would like, such as the names of the babies, mommies, and daddies (e.g., Elephant: Daddy = Bull, Mommy = Cow, Baby = Calf).
Above the top of the board is a stack of "Zoo Cards" -- I'll explain those later.
The board itself is basically two largish sheets of cardstock (like posterboard) I had laying around the house joined on the back by a strip of masking tape (so you can easily fold up the board for storage). We basically just drew the board and colored it in with markers, so nothing fancy there.
Scattered around the board, each of the ten animals has a "pen" -- the big oval with the animal's name in it. To add to the richness of the board (and to help make it more educational by helping her associate the word with the animal), we bought a set of small plastic animals from Target (16 mixed animals for $3.99) and place the corresponding animal in each pen when we set up the game. Hint: If you want to do the plastic animal bit, find and buy the animals before you buy the stickers and make the rest of the game.
In the center of the board is the Merry-Go-Round -- the starting place for all players. If your zoo has a different noteworthy landmark, feel free to substitute it.
The die was borrowed from another game we don't play anymore. One thing we did was put a monkey-face sticker on the '6' -- that signifies that the player is to draw a Zoo Card.
Zoo Cards are also made from halves of 3"x5" index cards. On one side is written a big "Z" and on the other is written one of several actions. The actions we have are as follows (but feel free to make up your own; the sillier the better):
• Visit the [animal] (1 card for each of the ten animals)
• Ride the Merry-Go-Round (2)
• Feed the Peacocks - Miss This Turn (1)
• Wait in Line - Miss This Turn (1)
• Have to Go Potty - Miss This Turn (1)
• Dropped Your Blankie - Miss This Turn (1)
• Take a Nap - Miss This Turn (1)
• Have a Snack - Miss This Turn (1)
• Sugar Buzz - Take Another Turn (1)
• Wild Card - Visit the Animal of Your Choice (1)
The last bit was player pieces. We actually re-use the player pieces we made for a previous game, but you can use or make whatever you like. Just make sure the bases fit in the squares you draw for paths; little kids tend to get confused if the piece covers more than one space.
The Zoo Game Gameplay
Someone goes first by rolling the die. If she rolls a number (1-5), she moves that number of spaces along a path. If she hits an animal space within that number of spaces, she stops and picks up the animal card. If, however, the player already has that animal card, the animal space counts just like a normal space and the player can move through it on that same turn if she rolled a high enough number.
If the player rolls a 6 on the die, he draws a Zoo Card and immediately does whatever the Zoo Card tells him to do. Play then passes to the player on the left.
The first player to collect all 10 animal cards wins immediately upon collecting the tenth card (we don't require the player to return to the Merry-Go-Round space, but that's up to you).
Gameplay Variation
One interesting variant on the gameplay described above that we've tried (and prefer) is to place just a single animal card next to each animal pen. The first player to reach that animal space gets the card. The game ends when the last animal card is picked up. The winner is the player with the most animal cards. This variant is quite fun in that the Zoo Cards can cause quite the uproar when you're 2 spaces from a much-needed animal and you're suddenly sent to the other side of the board. It's also a much quicker game (good for kids with shorter attention spans, or adults who've had too much caffeine).
Anyway, if this inspires you to make your own game with your kid(s), let me know how it goes. Have fun...
Posted by Craig in Family
and Gaming
and Other
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March 2, 2008
Suicide or Murder?
No note was left.
Posted by Craig in Other
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February 1, 2008
Blue Screen of Fail
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Dessert Fail
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January 24, 2008
The Great Shrinking T-Shirt
While this may seem like going full-throttle into uncharted depths of mundania, I was shocked today by how much my t-shirts shrink. Below is a 2-year-old J.Crew undershirt laid on top of a brand new J.Crew undershirt.
Both are the same material and same brand and same size (men's medium). The old shirt has always been washed in cold water and dried on medium heat, so it's not like I've been cooking the thing. Amazing, no?
Posted by Craig in Other
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January 4, 2008
GearBits' Predictions for 2008
As has become customary around the changing of the calendar, here are GearBits' official predictions for 2008.
1) Blu-Ray Wins the Format War
Yep, I'm going to pick a winner and it's going to be Blu-Ray. The one-two punch of Warner Brothers's move to Blu-Ray exclusivity (from its Switzerland-like neutrality of supporting both formats) later in 2008 and Apple's announcement that BD will be the only HD format available in its products will cement HD DVD's demise. And none too soon. I don't really care which wins...just make it snappy so that prices on players and media can plummet, thanks.
2) Google's Android Shakes Up Phone Industry
For a while now, the cellphone industry has been fairly static. A few smartphone and mobile OS makers have generally tussled for market share, but the overall industry has been pretty evolutionary. Google's entry will prove to be a watershed moment, with open source finally making a big impact in the handheld space (and no, I don't consider the Zaurus to be a big deal...sorry). Actual handsets running Android will be announced, if not available, before the end of 2008.
3) Palm Supports Android
This is more of a hope than an actual prediction, as I just don't know whether the egos at Palm will let the company do the right thing and admit that their next-generation OS (which has been under development since 2004!) will be a viable contender against Android (which has essentially the same technical details but scads more developer support). But, if cooler, more rational heads prevail at Palm, they'll announce that they're plans will be to produce at least one Android-based product (probably to come out sometime in 2012 :-/ ).
4) Microsoft's HD Photo Replacement for JPEG Image Standard Goes Nowhere
I'm not saying it's a bad idea technically; I'm just saying that JPEG is so entrenched now that replacing it would be about as reasonable a thing to try as would be replacing MP3 with any of the multitudes of better formats. JPEG, like MP3, isn't great, but it's adequate (at least for consumers) and ubiquitous. We'll still be saving all our photos in JPG (and maybe RAW) at the end of 2008...and likely long after that.
5) Subnotes Will Explode in Availability (and Maybe Popularity)
I've always been a fan of tiny, sub-3-pound laptops, but I think 2008 will see a huge number of these clamshell devices come out of every corner of the consumer electronics space. The Asus EeePC and the OLPC XO Laptop are two examples. While Microsoft had a good idea in its UMPC (Ultra-Mobile PC) concept, the hardware was just never executed all that well. Frankly, I think a 7" touchscreen for Windows is just too difficult. But, going with the traditional clamshell design and using cheaper and/or smaller technologies (e.g., flash memory instead of a HDD) will bring us a raft of interesting (and some good) designs at <$500 price points. Bring 'em on! And I think we'll start to see a lot more people toting these things along that traditionally avoided laptops for whatever reason (cost, weight, etc.).
6) The GPS War Heats Up
TomTom, Nokia, and Garmin will exchange hostile fire over the GPS market due to convuluted agreements regarding mapping data as well as market-share for hardware. Products will continue to decline in price and improve in functionality, and >50% of cellphones will have some form of GPS functionality available on them. I guess that's two predictions in one...oh well.
7) DRM Hits Choppy Water
2007 saw some movement away from DRM (digital rights management), especially in the music industry, but I expect we'll see similar initiatives in all areas of media. DRM has been proven again and again to be little more than an expensive technological boondoggle, and the leading innovators at the consumer media interface (e.g., Apple, Amazon, and Google) will make some headway into reversing the trend of more encumbrance for our media. The RIAA and MPAA will continue to fight it...they know how to do nothing else...but economic results will start to demonstrate that DRM actually hurts profitability.
8) Major Tech Stocks End 2008 Up Significantly
These are bound to be wrong, but what the heck...nobody pays me for stock tips. I think Apple will end 2008 at 235, Google will be at 960, and Microsoft will finish the year at 50. As for other stocks, iRobot will end up at either 46 or 12 (can you tell I'm a cynical shareholder?), IBM will show tepid growth to 112, and RIM, hurt by the continued weak US dollar and facing increasing competition, will struggle to match its 1-year high of 127.
9) I Buy a New Laptop and Am Disappointed
My Panasonic CF-W2 is now three-and-a-half-years-old and I'm starting to cringe every time I turn it on (my luck with hard drives makes me skeptical of many living past their 4th birthday). I've been looking at possible replacements (e.g., Toshiba R500, Panasonic W7, maybe the Lenovo IdeaPad U110 or the rumored Apple subnote) and so far every single one has some significant trade-offs. So, I expect I'll get one and it will turn out to be not significantly better than my aging Toughbook. You'd think in nearly four years that two grand would buy something markedly superior. We'll see...
10) Major Changes in Automotive Industry Announced
While the car business makes actual change only very slowly, we'll see some huge announcements in 2008 that will fundamentally change the future of that industry. Things like record oil prices, an increasing attention to sustainable/green technology, and significant ownership changes will substantially change the competitive landscape. Make no mistake; Toyota will continue its ascent and eclipse GM as #1 car-maker in the world. But, we will see several major announcements that will start affecting actual consumers in 2009 and beyond.
So, I'll check back in about 12 months to see how I fared. In the meantime, what do you think will happen?
Posted by Craig in Computing
and Gaming
and Home A/V
and Industry
and Internet
and Other
and Phones
and Photography
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and Society / Politics
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I Doubt They Thought It Was Very Funny
Posted by Craig in Other
and Popular Media
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November 6, 2007
Find a Penny, Save a Bit More
And to think that someone once told me I was wasting my time saving Canadian pennies.
Canada's Dollar Reaches Record High on Fed Rate Cut SpeculationNov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Canada's dollar climbed to a record against its U.S. counterpart on speculation credit market losses will prompt the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again this year.
The currency rose 0.7 percent to $1.0791 at 8:07 a.m. in Toronto as the U.S. dollar weakened against 15 of the 16 most- traded currencies.
Read the whole story (Bloomberg.com)
Posted by Craig in Industry
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and Society / Politics
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September 27, 2007
What My Brain Thought Up While I Was Doing Dishes
The scene is a torchlit medieval pub patronized by foul-smelling, snaggle-toothed men in filthy clothing. The door opens and a blast of frigid winter air is followed by two huge, tough-looking vikings. They stomp in, shaking the snow off their furs, and the first one pounds a great fist onto the bar.
"Keep! Two meads!" he says in a harsh, low, gravelly voice. The bartender pours two draughts and slides the flagons over to the giant men.
The bigger of the two vikings then raises a finger, stares into the eyes of the quaking barkeep, and says, "Could we get these to go? And I'd like a straw."
Posted by Craig in Other
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July 4, 2007
Transformers
As most any avid fan knows, the Transformers movie is opening today.
I was a huge fan of the toys and cartoons when I was a kid. That fact was reinforced when I happened upon this old Polaroid of me on my 14th birthday.
My buddy Greg also has a kick-ass Transformers collection, so I know where to go when I need a fix. But until I can visit, the movie will have to sate my appetite. If you see it, leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Posted by Craig in Family
and Movies & Books
and Other
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June 13, 2007
New Category at GearBits: Bad Parents
I'm constantly stunned by the ridiculous stories of awful parenting that appear in the news (which also makes me wonder about what doesn't appear). Just to keep track of some of these terrific examples of terrible parenting, I've created a new content category: Bad Parents
So, if you're ever feeling a tad guilty for saying 'no' to your kid's request for ice cream or for just not having the time to take him to band practice and soccer practice and drama club and Scouts, etc., check back here for some positive reinforcement; at least you're not as bad as these miserable parents. Alternately, send your kid a link to this category to remind him how lucky he is.
To kick off the new category, here's a story from the AP as reported by CNN:
Couple finishes restaurant meal while child tied in hot carCHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (AP) -- Police in northwest Georgia have rescued a boy from a hot car where his mother's companion is accused of tying him up.
Ringgold, Georgia, police say a Cracker Barrel restaurant employee called police after seeing Raymond Minchew take the 6-year-old out of the restaurant and return without him -- then finished eating his meal. Ringgold is about 13 miles southeast of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Police found the bound boy sitting in the car, crying.
Sergeant John Gass says the child was soaked with sweat and had a rope tied to one of his ankles. Gass says the temperature was in the 80s Saturday in Ringgold.
The 61-year-old Minchew and the boy's mother -- 35-year-old Rachel Gilchrist -- were arrested and charged with cruelty to children and concealing a weapon. There was a handgun in the car.
Investigators believe the boy was in the hot car for about a half hour.
Police Sergeant John Gass says the couple contended the boy had misbehaved, although witnesses at the restaurant disagreed.
The boy has been placed in protective custody.
Original story (CNN.com)
Posted by Craig in Bad Parents
and Other
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May 15, 2007
Aryan Girl: Niche Marketing Taken to Its Logical Extreme
Posted by Craig in Industry
and Other
and Society / Politics
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May 14, 2007
Solar Rider: Gadget Recharger for Vehicles
If you're a biker or a hiker and you like to keep your gadgets charged while on the go, you might want to check out the Solar-Rider by Twisted Road Cycle Gear. It uses foldable solar cells to charge up a 3600 mAh power pack.
It's a little pricey for a charger solution, but not compared to that new Kona you just bought.
Posted by Craig in Mobile & PDAs
and Other
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May 10, 2007
GearBits Comments Reopened
Movable Type's current combination of blacklisting, link counting, and word filtering does a pretty decent job at categorizing user comments into three categories: Approved, Moderated, and Junked. I currently have "Approved" comments (i.e., those that don't raise the filtering rules' suspicion) to appear immediately, while "Moderated" comments require my approval before appearing.
So, feel free to leave a comment. At worst, your comment may languish a bit until I approve it. :-)
Posted by Craig in Other
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January 27, 2007
Comments Disabled Again
Well, the weird problem with the server getting consumed by oddly constructed Perl commands is back. I think it's either some strange exploit that hackers are attempting or its a poorly formed automated commenting tool that causes Movable Type to get all tied up in knots. I don't really know...regardless, comments are now off again until I get the time and interest in trying to figure out a solution.
Posted by Craig in Other
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January 1, 2007
Revisiting My Predictions for 2006
Since I made a series of
1) Google Launches All-in-One Suite
I've been expecting this for some time, as have other folks, I'm sure, but I think 2006 will definitely see this announcement. Google will, I predict, launch a converged, multi-purpose, browser-based work environment -- lord knows what it'll be called, maybe GoogleDesk or something like that. Anyway, it will incorporate and integrate many of the disparate services that Google currently offers plus add a few. GoogleDesk will integrate Google search, Gmail (plus an enhanced contacts management function), Google Maps (auto-mapping of contacts, natch!), Blogger (for publication/hosting of created content), a new mini-suite of document tools based on the OpenOffice standard (so you can create word processor documents, spreadsheets, and presentation files), GoogleBase (the use of which will become more obvious with time), and Google News (of course). All these will be wrapped up in a browser-neutral (although I wouldn't be surprised for Google to cozy up to Mozilla to enhance Firefox with some special goodies), Java-based interface. Personally, I eagerly await this.
Kinda, sorta true. Google's offerings did indeed multiply in 2006, with Google Documents and a raft of other new and enhanced online services popping up. Technically, they haven't all been integrated into a single UI, but given they all work in a single browser session, that's pretty close.
2) The HD-DVD/Blu-Ray war ends...Blu-Ray wins
Yes, Sony will finally be able to claim a victory in the format wars. After so many failed attempts at ruling the world (cue Pinkie and the Brain theme) -- Betamax, minidisc, all the various flavors of Memory Stick, etc. -- Sony and friends will edge out the HD-DVD group and Blu-Ray will become the de facto format for HD content. That is, until something better comes along almost immediately, but hey, that's a prediction for next year.
The war ain't over, but I think most people who follow the industry would agree that Blu-Ray, despite Sony's floundering on the PS3, has more behind it than does HD-DVD at this point. It will likely take a few more years for the winner to become obvious -- until then, consumers will just be faced with more options they couldn't really care less about. After all, normal DVD looks pretty good on an HDTV and more people are choosing to take their video with them on the go; high-definition is the least of concerns for the joe wanting to watch Family Guy on his iPod.
3) The Linux-based replacement for Palm OS comes out
To limited acclaim in the West, it is immediately adopted by a significant number of Asian companies for its cheap, flexible architecture. The number of devices (almost entirely phones) running it by the end of 2006 will be around 10 in Asia and zero (maybe 1 or 2) in the West (US + Europe).
Wrong. Well, ALP (Access Linux for Palm) was released, but I've yet to hear of any actual adoption, so I'll just have to chalk this up to pure optimism.
4) Nokia will launch a Linux phone
Following the nascent success of its Linux-based 770 Internet Tablet, Nokia launches its first phone using a Linux-based OS. It mimics the S60 in look and feel. It does well, but not markedly so, causing much speculation and debate around the web about whether Nokia is abandoning S60 entirely.
Nope, didn't happen.
5) Democrats regain control of US Senate, make gains in HOR
The margin won't be enormous, but the Senate will once again be in the familiar (and, arguably, beneficial to the electorate) position of being led by the party not in control of the White House. More negotiation will result in 2007 and something a wee bit closer to "democracy" will return to the US shortly thereafter. Still a long way from acceptable, but closer.
Pretty much right on the money. In fact, you might say I underestimated their gains. Looking forward to a government much more balanced by checks and balances than it has been lately.
6) Windows Vista will launch, Apple users yawn
Windows Vista (launched in early Q4) will excite few, especially in the corporate ranks, due to the combination of a lack of "must-have" improvements and unattractive licensing structures offered by Microsoft. The 17 or so flavors of Vista will also leave consumers puzzled over which version is best for them and ultimately wait until they replace their hardware to upgrade. Given that processor speeds aren't increasing much and hard drives are getting easier to replace, there will be fewer changing out their PCs. Microsoft faces a tougher year than usual next year regarding financials; Windows Mobile and Xbox divisions still not profitable (but closer).
Sounds like a pretty accurate description of what actually happened.
7) Digital/HDTV makes big inroads
2006 will be the year of the migration to HDTV. Falling HDTV set prices (especially DLP and LCD), plus an exciting bounty of converging digital content, will usher in a period of rapid adoption that will continue into 2007. Content providers will actually start getting significant numbers of complaints when they broadcast non-HD content on their HD channels, leading to fewer programming lapses.
For the most part, yup. The sales of HDTVs were so large this holiday season that they actually affected the profitability of several large electronics retailers. So I guess it's clear that HDTV is taking off as expected. What remains to be seen is whether the broadcasters actually start paying attention now that HD viewership is climbing into significant numbers.
8) Satellite radio subscribership grows, but limited
Sirius and XM will continue to gain subscribers, but neither will top 10 million by the end of 2006. Someone will launch a mySatelliteRadio service that lets users listen to their personal music collections via satellite receiver (think MP3.com's old model applied to satradio). The RIAA will eat it for lunch, with a few hundred new downloading lawsuits for dessert.
XM had less than 8 million subscribers at the end of 2006 and Sirius had about 6 million, with the latter growing more quickly. Both are growing more slowly than the companies had predicted (and promised to investors), so that part of my prediction is absolutely spot on. I haven't heard of anything like the mySatelliteRadio service being launched, but given that many satellite receivers now enable playback of MP3 files, the two music sources are definitely getting closer.
9) TiVo is acquired
I don't know by whom, but I think this will happen within the next 12 months.
Ahem, no.
10) Resurgances of sci-fi/fantasy TV shows
The recent success of Battlestar Galactica and Lost, and the big money that the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings franchises generate cause network television studios to start prepping more science fiction and fantasy content. A friend of mine thinks I'm daft to predict this -- we'll see. If not next year, then 2007. Or not.
Not exactly, at least not on the major networks. They are still heading towards the safe-and-familiar lines of reality/unscripted programming, dramas, and situation comedies. Alas, none of those are in space or in a castle somewhere. Too bad.
So, in the end, I had 5 predictions true or mostly correct, 4 that were mostly or completely wrong, and 1 that was unclear. Stay tuned for my predictions for 2007...
Posted by Craig in Industry
and Internet
and Mobile & PDAs
and Other
and Popular Media
and Society / Politics
and Technology
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December 19, 2006
Eric Kelley...where are you?
OK, just one more. Eric (of Allspice Ct), if you read this, ping me -- craig DOT froehle AT gmail DOT com -- I'd like to hear what's going on in your life.
Posted by Craig in Other
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John Stekli...where are you?
While I'm at it, another childhood friend has gone missing, so John, buddy, if you're out there, drop me a line...would be great to catch up! Email is craig DOT froehle AT gmail DOT com
Posted by Craig in Other
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December 18, 2006
Aaron Maruna...where are you?
If you're the Aaron Maruna who lived at the end of Allspice Ct, I'm darn curious what you're up to after all these years. Our childhood friendship/rivalry (at least I saw it that way) was the genesis of some pretty funny memories, and I'd like to catch up. If you'd be up for that, email me: craig DOT froehle AT gmail DOT com
Happy holidays...
Posted by Craig in Other
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December 14, 2006
Comments Disabled (Temporarily, I Hope)
For the moment, I've had to disable comments since it's been causing some server instability. Hopefully, I'll figure out why and re-enable comments in the near future.
Posted by Craig in Other
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November 21, 2006
Homemade Baby Wipes
You can justify making your own baby wipes several different ways: They are cheaper, so you save money; there is less packaging and waste, so they are more environmentally sound; and you can customize them to your preference, so they are more to your liking.
Now, here's a simple "recipe" that takes less than three minutes per batch of ~60 wipes. You'll need the following materials:
• A roll of paper towels (normal-sized roll, ~60 sheets)
• A container, with lid, able to hold half the roll of paper towels
• Baby oil
• Baby shampoo
1) Cut a normal-size roll (~60 sheets) of paper towels in half (across the diameter) and remove the cardboard core from one half. The half-sheet perforated paper towels also work well by giving you smaller wipes.
2) Put one cup of water on to boil (~2 minutes in the microwave).
3) In the container, put a dollop of baby shampoo (about 2" diameter puddle) and a squirt of baby oil (same or a bit more as shampoo).
4) When the water has boiled, pour it into the container and swish around to mix the shampoo, oil, and water.
5) Put the half-roll of paper towels in and let water soak through towels before using (helps to put it upside down for a little while). To use, just pull a wipe from the middle of the roll and tear off.
My estimate is that this costs roughly $0.50 per 60 wipes, which compares favorably to $4.00+ for the same amount of name-brand wipes in the store. Over the diaper-wearing lifetime of a child, this can save literally hundreds of dollars, thereby helping to offset the costs of that new game console or smartphone.
Posted by Craig in Other
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October 6, 2006
Edward Tufte Seminar Not Worth Admission Price
Today, I attended a one-day seminar by Edward Tufte, grandfather of contemporary thinking in the area of data visualization and quantitative presentation. Well, I attended most of it...by 3:30, I was so bored and put off by the off-topic meanderings that I left.
In short, I was disappointed. This man, whose four books are seminal and excellent, had a very uneven five-and-a-half hours of presentation. While the morning part was pretty good -- it offered several useful tenets of visualization that most in the audience could probably make use of straight away -- the afternoon was a waste.
I really don't care about his sculpture or his opinions on managerial failings within NASA...that's not why I paid $270 (group rate) to attend the lecture. Rather, I was wanting to take away more pragmatic, immediately useful design principles and hoping that he'd spend most of the time walking through many of the examples that abound in his books to illustrate how he thinks about particular visualization examples and tasks.
Instead, we got long-winded and overly drawn-out discourses on just a very few of the better-known examples. Add to that the time wasted on rather pointless displays of two rare books that Tufte owns (do we really need to see the actual book, or was he doing it just to prove that he owns such rare and expensive antiques?) and you end up with about 2 hours of useful content spread over most of a day.
But then, I guess nobody would pay $360 (regular price) for a 2-hour monologue, even if it included all four of Tufte's books.
If today's presentation were a graphic, it would have a few pieces of useful, interesting information surrounded by lots of wasted space and pointless artifacts.
Yes, he's a very smart guy, and yes, his published works are both practically useful and aesthetically beautiful. But, after looking forward to this seminar for months, I just wish that the course today had been of the same high quality as the ideas and books that elevated Tufte to fame in the first place.
Posted by Craig in Other
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September 4, 2006
Steve Irwin (1942-2006)
Steve Irwin (pictured with wife and daughter), whose over-the-top 'Crocodile Hunter' persona captivated young and old alike, has died. He was fatally stung by a sting ray while swimming near the Great Barrier Reef.
I am glad I got to visit Irwin's Australia Zoo during our trip in 2003 (see photos 11-16).
The world needs a lot more naturalists and active, charismatic champions for the environment like Steve Irwin. He will be missed.
Posted by Craig in Other
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August 26, 2006
Visa Money Clip + Credit Card Concept
My buddy Mitch pointed out this nifty concept design that combines a Visa credit card with a built-in money clip:
Image courtesy of Sci-Fi.com.
He knows I have a fetish for minimizing my wallet's contents and overall bulk and I'd totally consider carrying this.
Posted by Craig in Other
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August 25, 2006
Comments Temporarily Restricted to Registered Users
While I work on the anti-comment spam elements of GearBits, I'm disabling the commenting function for all posts unless you have a TypeKey account. I really hate to do this, but I'd rather restrict it than have someone's comment accidentally get trashed via the auto-junk filter while things are being tweaked.
Thanks for understanding...things may go back to "normal" in a few days...
Posted by Craig in Other
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August 12, 2006
Sorry for the Outage
Well...THAT was fun. A tree fell one street over and took out a power line or two. In so doing, it sent 7200 volts to every house on our street. Damage I've heard ranged from major appliances going bad (our microwave is no longer functional, as are several other peoples') to the miniscule (a GFCI outlet was blown in our house as well).
One bit of damage was the power supply on the GearBits server here was totally shot. Now that that's fixed and our Internet service has been restored (also delivered over the power lines), we're back online.
So, sorry for the outage...maybe that whole-house surge suppressant system that Duke Energy offers isn't such a bad idea after all.
Posted by Craig in Other
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August 7, 2006
Humorous Signs...Real and Not So Much
You've probably received the same email I did recently containing a couple dozen funny signs and other public typos, some of which are likely just nice photoshop jobs, but all of which are good for a laugh. Since I didn't want to keep this in my email client anymore, I thought I'd post it for all to enjoy.
Here are the first two...the rest are in the extended article. Enjoy.
Posted by Craig in Other
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August 5, 2006
Movable Type Upgraded to 3.31
I just upgraded GearBits to version 3.31 of Movable Type (which now happens to be free for personal bloggers). It's a significant upgrade from version 3.17 I was running, so please let me know if you encounter any weirdness (leave a comment or, if that doesn't seem to work for you, email me at craig DOT froehle AT gmail DOT com). Thanks.
Posted by Craig in Other
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June 12, 2006
Differences in Press Coverage of the World Cup
As a lifelong fan of soccer, er, football, um...you know, that sport the rest of the world loves so much, I've been looking forward to World Cup 2006 for a while. I've always wondered why Americans generally don't care as much about the game, but I just noticed another correlate: the US press coverage of soccer is pretty lame, and that's putting it nicely.
Where a US news outlet might write that the player "kicked a shot wide," anywhere else might say something like "rocketed a disappointing miss left."
Take this comparative example of coverage of today's US drubbing by the Czech Republic.
First, some of ESPN's coverage:
U.S. captain Claudio Reyna came closest to scoring, hitting a post midway through the first half. But Rosicky scored on a soaring 25-yard shot in the 36th minute, and the Americans never got back into the game against the Czechs, semifinalists in the European Championship two years ago.Rosicky hit the crossbar in the 68th and added a goal in the 76th minute, getting past the U.S. defense off a through pass from Pavel Nedved, Europe's 2003 player of the year, and beating Kasey Keller on a breakaway.
Eddie Johnson, who entered at halftime, provided some energy, missing just wide in the 70th minute and high in the 76th.
Now, read a bit of the BBC's take, which exemplifies the European rest of the world's passion for the game:
With five minutes on the clock Nedved fed in Grygera and the full-back's inch-perfect right-wing cross was clinically headed home by 6ft 7in Koller.USA enjoyed plenty of possession, but the Czechs - and the brilliant Nedved in particular - always had another gear to move into.
His outrageous outside-of-the-foot cross landed on Grygera's head, but he could only nod over.
The Americans so nearly made them pay moments later, Reyna drilling a 25-yard daisy-cutter that crashed back into play off Petr Cech's right-hand post with the Chelsea stopper beaten.
Granted, superlatives and hyperbole aren't regularly welcomed in journalism, but maybe, just maybe, if Americans were more regularly presented with coverage of soccer that exuded that much savvy and enthusiasm, we might care about it more.
Or, maybe we need to care about it first before ESPN ever will. But then again, our apathy for watching people play cards on TV didn't stop them from spoon-feeding us the World Series of Poker six hours a day, now did it?
Posted by Craig in Other
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May 16, 2006
GearBits Archives: Complete List of Posts
I've received this request a few times, and I've finally gotten around to coding it up.
Here is a complete list of all GearBits posts, in reverse chronological order (newest at the top), with each post's primary category, date posted, and number of comments.
From looking at that list, I also noticed that these are the most heavily commented posts so far:
Lost & Forgotten 70's & 80's TV Shows (466 comments)
Samsung DLP TV (232 comments)
The Llama Song (165 comments)
Scientific Atlanta DVR Not So Hot (138 comments)
WheresGeorge.com (122 comments)
Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD Hi-Def DVR (98 comments)
Enjoy...
Posted by Craig in Other
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April 27, 2006
Once Again, 'People' Overlooks the Obvious
I am shocked, SHOCKED that People magazine has again this year failed to recognize me as one of its "Most Beautiful People". I am SO cancelling my subscription.
Posted by Craig in Other
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April 15, 2006
Korky QuietFill Toilet Fill Valve
Yes, I realize this isn't a very sexy gadget to talk about, but it's a satisfying technology, so what the heck.
We've replaced the guts of two toilets in our house with these Korky QuietFill toilet valves and, so far, I've been very satisfied. They were incredibly easy to install (5 minutes tops), work reliably (5-year guarantee), and are quieter than the units they replaced.
At $10-$15 at your local hardware store (we got ours at Lowe's Hardware), they're certainly not expensive. They include all the parts you're likely to need (I actually threw away about half the parts both times because they weren't necessary for our installations). Plus, they're made in the USA, in case that matters to you.
Update (3/3/07): This unit seems to be going bad already. It is making a low-level, variable whine as if a teensy bit of water was making it through some seal somewhere. I don't think I'll be replacing it with another Korky if they are going to fail within a year.
Update #2 (3/12/07): Well, the Korky Toilet Fill Valve instructions were right; it wasn't actually a problem with the fill valve. Rather, the flapper assembly was leaking, thereby causing the fill valve to slowly add water back into the tank as the water level dropped. Replacing the flapper/fill tube assembly (also with a Korky unit) did the trick. Ah...silence.
Posted by Craig in Other
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March 22, 2006
Yoiks....Sorry! Server Clock Reset
If you noticed the GearBits index page got REALLY big (2.4 MB in HTML alone), I apologize. The server clock got reset to Jan. 1, 2000, so Movable Type rebuilt the index page to include everything up to a month prior to that. And that's a LOT of posts.
Everything should be back to normal now, but if you notice something odd, please let me know. Thanks!
Posted by Craig in Other
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March 10, 2006
Quote of the Moment
"Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish."
- Euripides
"The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool."
- William Shakespeare
"Wise men profit more from fools than fools from wise men; for the wise men shun the mistakes of fools, but fools do not imitate the successes of the wise."
- Cato the Elder
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."
- Bertrand Russell
"Never give advice; the wise don't need it and fools won't heed it."
- Unknown
Posted by Craig in Other
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January 27, 2006
The Day Marketing Took Off
My wife came home from the grocery store with this box of cereal. Apparently, the product name was developed by the same engineers who designed the packaging machinery, as what marketing person in their right mind would name a cereal 'Crispy Hexagons'???
And why, oh why, would you advertise that corn and rice have been "blended" in your product? I mean, is the mental image of corn and rice tossed in a blender appealing to anyone with teeth?
Oh, Flavorite, how you mess with our minds.
Posted by Craig in Other
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January 24, 2006
Attention, Reader(s)
I awoke tonight from deep sleep with an epiphany (or maybe indigestion, I'm not quite clear on that yet). If there are any of you out there who actually read what I post here, I want you to know that GearBits is changing, um, gears a bit (sorry).
From now on, I don't expect that I'll be writing for you as much as I have attempted to in the past. I will still be posting news and items of interest to the gadget fan, for I am too much of one of those to avoid it. But GearBits will soon (very soon) start incorporating content of a more varied, and I dare say personal, nature than it has in the past.
Why the change? Three reasons. First, GearBits is clearly not able, or intended, to replicate the services offered by other, full-time and professionally managed technology news sites. To attempt to emulate that style produces little more than sporadic posts, any one of which having perhaps only modest appeal even to me.
Second, doing something different allows me to produce a more complete record of my thoughts. Not that all my thoughts are inherently interesting to you, but as I said above, the writing will henceforth be less specifically directed at you, my dear reader(s). By writing for myself as much as anyone else, at least one person will get long-term value out of my efforts (I apologize if that one person turns out not to be you).
And third, well, because I enjoy looking back over mundane details of my life as a sort of introverted, personal reminiscing. Paging through something as banal as a daily planner from my high school years is thoroughly enjoyable to me -- sort of a temporally displaced auto-voyeurism. While my Treo keeps track of the whens and whos and whats of my day-to-day life now, there's no good place in it for more complex musings, and that is what I'd like to add to this blog.
So, in advance, I apologize if you are less entertained by more of what you see here; my intent is not to drive you away. But, should you be engaged more, or differently, that's great...we both win.
Posted by Craig in Other
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January 10, 2006
Arsonist Mouse Gets Revenge
From the Associated Press
Mouse Thrown Into Fire Sets Home AblazeFORT SUMNER, N.M. - A mouse got its revenge against a homeowner who tried to dispose of it in a pile of burning leaves. The blazing creature ran back to the man's house and set it on fire.
Luciano Mares, 81, of Fort Sumner said he caught the mouse inside his house and wanted to get rid of it.
"I had some leaves burning outside, so I threw it in the fire, and the mouse was on fire and ran back at the house," Mares said from a motel room Saturday.
Village Fire Chief Juan Chavez said the burning mouse ran to just beneath a window, and the flames spread up from there and throughout the house.
No was hurt inside, but the home and everything in it was destroyed.
Unseasonably dry and windy conditions have charred more than 53,000 acres and destroyed 10 homes in southeastern New Mexico in recent weeks.
"I've seen numerous house fires," village Fire Department Capt. Jim Lyssy said, "but nothing as unique as this one."
The score is now:
Animals -- 1
Idiots who like to torture animals -- 12,353
Posted by Craig in Other
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January 5, 2006
Quote of the Moment
My Google homepage had a great quote this morning:
"A committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly strangled."
- Sir Barnett Cocks
Posted by Craig in Other
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December 29, 2005
GearBits' Predictions for 2006
Gazing into my crystal (liquid crystal, of course) ball, the haze clears and 2006 looms large. Here is what the future holds for us in the coming year:
1) Google Launches All-in-One Suite
I've been expecting this for some time, as have other folks, I'm sure, but I think 2006 will definitely see this announcement. Google will, I predict, launch a converged, multi-purpose, browser-based work environment -- lord knows what it'll be called, maybe GoogleDesk or something like that. Anyway, it will incorporate and integrate many of the disparate services that Google currently offers plus add a few. GoogleDesk will integrate Google search, Gmail (plus an enhanced contacts management function), Google Maps (auto-mapping of contacts, natch!), Blogger (for publication/hosting of created content), a new mini-suite of document tools based on the OpenOffice standard (so you can create word processor documents, spreadsheets, and presentation files), GoogleBase (the use of which will become more obvious with time), and Google News (of course). All these will be wrapped up in a browser-neutral (although I wouldn't be surprised for Google to cozy up to Mozilla to enhance Firefox with some special goodies), Java-based interface. Personally, I eagerly await this.
2) The HD-DVD/Blu-Ray war ends...Blu-Ray wins
Yes, Sony will finally be able to claim a victory in the format wars. After so many failed attempts at ruling the world (cue Pinkie and the Brain theme) -- Betamax, minidisc, all the various flavors of Memory Stick, etc. -- Sony and friends will edge out the HD-DVD group and Blu-Ray will become the de facto format for HD content. That is, until something better comes along almost immediately, but hey, that's a prediction for next year.
3) The Linux-based replacement for Palm OS comes out
To limited acclaim in the West, it is immediately adopted by a significant number of Asian companies for its cheap, flexible architecture. The number of devices (almost entirely phones) running it by the end of 2006 will be around 10 in Asia and zero (maybe 1 or 2) in the West (US + Europe).
4) Nokia will launch a Linux phone
Following the nascent success of its Linux-based 770 Internet Tablet, Nokia launches its first phone using a Linux-based OS. It mimics the S60 in look and feel. It does well, but not markedly so, causing much speculation and debate around the web about whether Nokia is abandoning S60 entirely.
5) Democrats regain control of US Senate, make gains in HOR
The margin won't be enormous, but the Senate will once again be in the familiar (and, arguably, beneficial to the electorate) position of being led by the party not in control of the White House. More negotiation will result in 2007 and something a wee bit closer to "democracy" will return to the US shortly thereafter. Still a long way from acceptable, but closer.
6) Windows Vista will launch, Apple users yawn
Windows Vista (launched in early Q4) will excite few, especially in the corporate ranks, due to the combination of a lack of "must-have" improvements and unattractive licensing structures offered by Microsoft. The 17 or so flavors of Vista will also leave consumers puzzled over which version is best for them and ultimately wait until they replace their hardware to upgrade. Given that processor speeds aren't increasing much and hard drives are getting easier to replace, there will be fewer changing out their PCs. Microsoft faces a tougher year than usual next year regarding financials; Windows Mobile and Xbox divisions still not profitable (but closer).
7) Digital/HDTV makes big inroads
2006 will be the year of the migration to HDTV. Falling HDTV set prices (especially DLP and LCD), plus an exciting bounty of converging digital content, will usher in a period of rapid adoption that will continue into 2007. Content providers will actually start getting significant numbers of complaints when they broadcast non-HD content on their HD channels, leading to fewer programming lapses.
8) Satellite radio subscribership grows, but limited
Sirius and XM will continue to gain subscribers, but neither will top 10 million by the end of 2006. Someone will launch a mySatelliteRadio service that lets users listen to their personal music collections via satellite receiver (think MP3.com's old model applied to satradio). The RIAA will eat it for lunch, with a few hundred new downloading lawsuits for dessert.
9) TiVo is acquired
I don't know by whom, but I think this will happen within the next 12 months.
10) Resurgances of sci-fi/fantasy TV shows
The recent success of Battlestar Galactica and Lost, and the big money that the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings franchises generate cause network television studios to start prepping more science fiction and fantasy content. A friend of mine thinks I'm daft to predict this -- we'll see. If not next year, then 2007. Or not.
OK, those are my predictions. I may add some more...come this time in 2006, I'll look back on these and, well, probably LMAO at how poorly I forecast the future. Until then, have a good one!
Posted by Craig in Industry
and Internet
and Mobile & PDAs
and Other
and Popular Media
and Society / Politics
and Technology
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December 14, 2005
Having Trouble Leaving Comments?
Are you having trouble leaving comments? Is the anti-spam filter telling you that you need to modify your post when there's nothing in it that seems spam-like?
If so, let me know. Either leave a comment (yes, I appreciate the irony) or email me at
CRAIG dot FROEHLE at GMAIL dot COM.
Posted by Craig in Other
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