Monthly Archive for May, 2007

Street View and Surface

Published
by
Tim
on May 30, 2007
in General and Tech
. 0 Comments

Just a couple of links to keep some content going on this site.

First up, google never ceises to amaze.  They have now added a new functionality to their google maps that allows you to view certain cities at street level.  As if you were standing at a specific spot!  Check it out.  It’s pretty neat.  I’ve found myself wandering the streets of NY or San Fransisco, even finding my relatives homes.  Currently it only works in 4 or 5 major cities, but they have contracted out a company to do a lot more.

Everyone remembers some of the cool computer interface stuff that the movie Minority Report displayed, giving us a glimpse at what life would be like 50 years in the future.  Well some of those ideas are already coming to life with Microsoft Surface.  Just look at some of the possibilities that they show in their demo videos.  Unfortunately this technology is still very expensive, but I can see this showing up in the next couple of years in hotels, bars, casinos and restaurants, and then eventually in our homes.  I really like how some of the jukebox and photo manipulation works.  Imagine some of the gaming possibilities!

On a more serious note, it has been a pretty rough month for two of my friends who I’ve known for a long time.  Its kind of weird that 2 very real situations have effected people my age, but it just shows how fragile life really is.

Ben, I’ve known from when I lived in California and we kinda re-met once we discovered the vast world that is the internet.  He has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and is currently undergoing chemo treatment.  You can check out his progress and prayer requests over on his blog.  Please keep him in your prayers.

Another friend from High School, Ryan Butcher, was in a very serious ATV accident.  He is doing a lot better than originally expected, but is still in serious care.  Please pray for him as well.

My summer schedule has already started, and I was looking at my calendar the other day and realized I only have 1 weekend where I don’t have anything scheduled all the way through August.  Its going to be a pretty busy summer, but I’ll try to keep posting here at least once a month.

New Puppy, and general updates

Published
by
Tim
on May 3, 2007
in Flickr/Pics, General, Movies and TV
. 0 Comments

So I realize its been over a month since I’ve made a post of any substantial content. Last week’s was some very good info, but doesn’t really count as a post of substance on a personal blog. I’ve always “got onto” other bloggers for letting a month go by without any updates, so to make an attempt and not being hypocritical, here is your update.

About 2 weeks ago, I went with my brother and parents to pick up a new puppy for them. They drove down all the way to Washington Courthouse to get a 1 month old Golden Retriever pup. You can find some pictures of him by clicking on the picture below.

New Puppy thumb

We debated for a while on what his name should be and decided on Cody. My parents wanted something that reminded them of the West (Cody, Wyoming) and also might be related to a soda beverage (our dog before Zac was Fresca - like the drink). So Cody can also be considered Code Red (Mt. Dew). All very vaugue and weakly linked in my opinion, but Cody works. We thought of one name that all of us except my Mom loved. Bauer (or Bower in dog language). I’m considering getting my own dog this fall (if our housing arrangement allows it) and am pretty sure that I will name him Bauer. I’d really like to have my own dog, the only problem being if I got a puppy then I’d have to train him, and that could be difficult since I work all day. If I didn’t get a puppy, I’d be somewhat limited on his/her name. But we’ll see. My Mom is currently remembering how much work raising a puppy (do you raise a puppy?) is, especially when you’re home by yourself all day.

You may have noticed if you clicked on the picture, that it didn’t go to the normal spot. In fact it went to a entirely new area and layout. You may have also noticed, if you’d looked in the past 24 hours, that all my pictures in the photo section are someone limited. This is because my “pro” Flickr account has expired after 1 year and I’m debating still if I want to renew it. The puppy gallery is currently being hosted by google’s picture service. Its a great service especially since it integrates well with Picasa, my windows picture organizer of choice. The only hold back is integration with my site ( I really liked hosting a plugin on my site that connected with Flickr) and the amount of storage. With Flickr, I paid $25 for a years worth of infinite storage and bandwidth. So I’ll be debating over the next few days/week if I want to move or just renew with Flickr. I’ll be sure to post, once I’ve made a decision.

Going to see Spiderman 3 tonight at midnight. I think I’m going more just to keep the inner geek inside me fed more than I am excited for it. Its not that I don’t expect to enjoy it. Thats not it at all. How can I not enjoy the most expensive movie ever made that’s based on comics and guaranteed to feature some badass fight scenes. I just feel like I know what to expect. Plus I hear there is a lot of Peter crying and Kirstin Dunst singing. Not sure what to think about that. It should still be good, but I’m not nearly as excited for this as I am say The Dark Knight (Batman Begins 2).

And while we’re on a superhero kick, Heroes is by far the best show on TV right now. Yes, better than Lost, 24, and Entourage. Every episode for this opening season has been amazing, and there are only 3 left! Even though I’ve been dealing with Heroes and 24 being on at the same time (watching 24 live and DVRing Heroes to watch immediately after), both shows have their season finale on the same day at the same time. UGGG!