Crytel's Randomness

2011-02-14T14:28:00.000-06:00

Watch live video from dockhproductions on Justin.tv

Buzz Can Tweet

2010-07-05T15:50:00.001-05:00

Do you want Google Buzz to automatically post to your twitter account? Now you can.

http://www.buzzcantweet.com/

2010-06-30T13:57:00.001-05:00

Wonderful simple mayo!

2010-06-20T03:06:00.001-05:00

Awsome idea for interface

2010-03-03T17:33:00.001-06:00

evolution - email and calendaring client.

2010-01-30T08:45:00.002-06:00

Its has been a long time since I last looked at Evolution and it certainly has grown up now. I am mostly a google accounts users (gmail, google calendar, Android phone) so one of the most important things I look at is google integration and how easily it is to set up to import and keep my google accounts synced. While I found the Evolution interface a bit confusing for some reason at first it doesn't take to long to figure out where things are and how they organize thier menu's.

Evolution does a great job with my email and calendar after taking some time to get used to them. It is going to be what I end up using on my Ubuntu laptop mostly because of how nicely it integrates with the desktop but the interface just isn't to my taste really although that could just be because of how used to thunderbird I am.

Google Earth for Android

2010-01-05T19:49:00.001-06:00

@NeowinFeed: Google Earth coming to Android phones soon http://bit.ly/4U7CC8

Looking forward to this, I love google sky although this along with google earth I see more as fun apps then useful.

Evernote on the Motorola

2009-11-29T10:05:00.001-06:00

I'm a huge fan of evernote, and now after the recent update for the Droid I'm a happy camper. It integrates nicely into the share menu to make my life easier.

New Motorola Droid

2009-11-12T21:59:00.001-06:00

I picked up a droid from verizion the otherday and after using it for since it is a definate upgrade to my old blackberry pearl. The key board is roomy for my large fingers although I have yet to be able to type on it without looking at the keyboard, I hope the comes with time but I'm not sure since its so flat.

You had better run update as soon as you get that new windows 7 computer.

2009-10-09T21:07:00.001-05:00

With windows 7 comming out soon and everyone waiting to get there hands on it for their new computer here is a little warning: several critical updates for windows 7 have already been released so you better run windows update before you start to browse the web.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Stargate Universe

2009-10-03T18:44:00.002-05:00

To go where no ancient has gone before. I so far love where this show looks like it is going.

Great Italian restraunt

2009-09-23T11:03:00.000-05:00

Yahoo and Microsoft join forces.

2009-08-05T20:31:00.001-05:00

This is a sad day for many now that Yahoo and Microsoft have combined forces to combat Google on the web. While I have all but stoped using yahoo a few years ago I have always gone back to it for searches that google could not handle well. Mostly though this means one less heavy hitter for the web and fewer companies to compete against google.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Google Wave to launch in September (beta of course)

2009-07-22T12:18:00.001-05:00

Google wave article with video from engadget

Google Chrome

2009-07-15T14:53:00.002-05:00

Although I have tried a lot of diffrent browsers in the past I have stuck to firefox for many many years but the current firefox is just to slow starting for me recently, and furthermore the crashing taking down all my open instances and tabs drives me nuts.

This annoyance has pushed me into using google's Chrome more and more as of late and I just took the leap and made it my default browser. My love continues for firefox but for now I am using Chrome and loving it.

gdgt gdgt.com

2009-07-03T01:04:00.001-05:00

Do you love gadgets, if you do this site is for you. The layout of this site is great although since it just launched yesterday it still has a few growing pains.

http://gdgt.com/

Excited!

2009-06-16T00:13:00.001-05:00

My Wedding in just a few days, I can't shake the feeling that we have forgotten stuff but I can't think what that would be.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Acer Android Netbook By October

2009-06-04T19:53:00.001-05:00

I'm excited by the thought of the new android OS being offered by Acer, this could be just great for a low cost nettop pc with easy access to everything I need.

Birthday party video of the Fireeaters

2009-05-23T12:12:00.002-05:00

wolframalpha.com

2009-05-19T19:22:00.002-05:00

Ok I took a good look at this earlier today and while I was impressed with the layout when I got the results I was looking for it was not often this was the case. I could see this being a good knowledge search sometime in the future when they have things figured out better but for now its just a novelty.

check it out http://www.wolframalpha.com/

cute bday card from my parents

2009-05-16T20:28:00.001-05:00

Star Trek's Warp Drive: Not Impossible

2009-05-06T21:33:00.001-05:00

space.com has an article detailing how warp drive similar to the one like star trek's might be possible.

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/090506-tw-warp-drive.html

Rome's catacombs in 3D

2009-05-04T15:49:00.001-05:00

Coffee

2009-05-01T00:31:00.002-05:00

Mozy day 3

2009-04-22T23:54:00.002-05:00

I had some time now to play with Mozy and its good and easy to work with, the program doesn't take to many system resources either when its not actively backing up or restoring. Restoring single files is also one of the very best I have seen.

Mozy

2009-04-19T18:09:00.002-05:00

Just trying out Mozy online backup. It says it will take about 2 hours to do my first backup, which includes my programming data files as well as all my OpenOffice files.

BumpTop - 3D desktop

2009-04-15T19:49:00.000-05:00

Save the Strib? Why?

2009-04-07T01:43:00.002-05:00

Ok so I've come across a large movement trying to save the Strib (as they call it, meaning the Minneapolis Star Tribune) and all I have to say to them is, "let it go". It has been a very badly managed company for sometime now and they have refused to listen to thier subscribers or to truely acknowlege the internet so I say its time for it to die instead of being allowed to live a painful life. It is old-media at its heart and while its past is something that we can celibrate its future is gone.

House Hunting

2009-03-28T01:33:00.002-05:00

Looking for houses and dealing with trying to understand all the mortgage stuff and different options is making my head hurt, I'm glad I don't have to rush to understand this stuff.

Race to Witch mountain (2009)

2009-03-12T01:25:00.003-05:00

First off I can't believe that I never even heard this was coming out until today, second... oh my has Disney really completely given up any effort to create original plots and story lines? That said I love the original Witch Mountain movies by Disney and will have to at least see how bad they did with this.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1075417/

Simple online timer for your web browser

2009-02-28T18:58:00.002-06:00

Ever find that you have your computer open and need a simple timer, maybe to time something you are cooking, or for an appointment that you have to leave for in a bit and don't want to get lost reading? This is where this little gem comes in, E.gg Timer. That is all it does, its simple to use, simple to set, simple to turn off. If you need a two minute timer just add "/2minute" to the end of the site to make it http://e.ggtimer.com/2minute s. If you just a number to the end (ie. "/30") then it takes the number as seconds for the timer.

Check it out at:
http://e.ggtimer.com/

Google notebook replacement cont.

2009-01-25T20:37:00.002-06:00

I am so glad that I started looking at replacements for Google notebook because it has lead me to discover evernote. After using this service for just a few days I already like it tons better then google notebook. I question the security a bit of this service but being as I don't put any notes on it that are really private anyhow its not a huge deal for me at this time.

Goodbye Google notebook

2009-01-18T17:48:00.004-06:00

This morning I found out that Google has discontinued development for Google Notebook. I use this web application quite a lot and have a fair amount of data saved on it so this announcement led me to immediately start looking for a replacement. Ideally I wanted a service that would import my current notebooks from google but that was secondary to function to me since Google is not removing the service and data merely discontinuing development.

Replacement Applications am looking at seriously

Lucky penguin

2008-12-02T01:12:00.000-06:00

Just watching the election results

2008-11-04T22:10:00.002-06:00

Camera Trade

2008-10-23T13:50:00.002-05:00

Today i went and traded my old pentax PZ-70 and its zoom lens in for a newer zoom lens for my new D-80

From Drop Box

Changed into this

From Recently Updated

Obama has Irish roots

2008-10-22T22:37:00.001-05:00

St. Anthany main lock and dam

2008-10-17T01:39:00.000-05:00

Downtown view at night

2008-10-17T00:55:00.001-05:00

Vista Desktop Manager - running linux style multiple desktops and easy/quick switching

2008-09-10T12:32:00.002-05:00

For a while now one of the major things that bothers me in windows has been the lack of multiple desktops. I find myself constantly going back to my Linux laptop for any real serious work because I'm able to get things done so much faster, and the multiple desktop feature is one of those reasons (the other being the command prompt and stability).

While at first, if you are not used to multiple desktops, it might just seem like a neat little toy it really is a huge time saver to people like me. I constantly have several programs open at the same time and I like a lot of my programs to have as much screen real state as possible (which is also why I often use duel monitors if I'm not on the road) and having to constantly alt-tab through many windows is time consuming, I find it only really fast if I have 2-3 windows open at a time. The multiple desktops allows me to divide my desktops up by what ever current task I have at the time and quickly flip through them without the order of my windows changing.

Although this program is still listed as beta I have found it to be very stable personally, although I can't vouch for all configurations.

You can Download it here: http://www.download.hr/windows/download/5552/Vista/XP-Virtual-Desktops
Or the main web site here: http://www.codeplex.com/vdm

New file sharing site

2008-08-26T20:54:00.002-05:00

This service is nice for quickly transferring larger files to one or several people.

http://drop.io/

How to buy a new car

2008-08-14T01:18:00.001-05:00

A lot of this just makes sense, short video that is good to review before buying a new car.

Fireworks from downtown Minneapolis

2008-07-05T14:14:00.000-05:00

Southern Lights

2008-06-29T20:23:00.000-05:00

Ubuntu inux on old laptop

2008-05-31T17:22:00.004-05:00

I had a hard drive crash on my main laptop a few weeks ago and ended up getting a newer laptop with MS Vista x64 on it because as expected the software that came with the laptop would not allow me to reinstall the backup I had made of it on the new hard drive (shitty software backup that came with the laptop). Because of advances I decided it wasn't worth the issues of buying a new copy windows XP OS to put on it. The new laptop as one might expect has become my main workhorse (after some tweeks Vista isn't as awful as I expected).

Now it should be pointed out that I have had much experience with Linux in the past but have never checked out the Ubuntu version, mainly I was working with it as a server OS and didn't want all the stuff that Ubuntu has on it and needed the granularity control that I could get from other distributions. I decided to try Ubuntu for a few different reasons, I hadn't before, I heard it was great on newer laptops, and it had good package management tools. I have had it installed for about a week and just love it. It is so nice to have a mobile Linux option now and it seems just as reliable as my desktop installations of Linux, performing how a computer should... it just works, security updates in the background, no odd things being installed without me saying so, nothing breaking because of an update. If only i could run games and photoshop on this I would be set.

High gas prices

2008-05-25T18:40:00.002-05:00

Mostly because of the high gas prices I am looking again at scooters. Being that I am not some skinny light guy I'm unsure if the 49CC ones would really go even 30MPH with me no mater what the company's say. So to become more informed about them first I have joined a scooter forum at http://scooterforums476.yuku.com/ in hopes that the people on it can help me out.

Blackberry update

2008-04-18T14:33:00.002-05:00

I have been with the Blackberry for a while now and am very impressed by the applications for it. The most useful of all is the Google application that syncs Google calender with the built in calender of the Blackberry. This enables me to use the computer or the blackberry (which ever is easier from where I am) to read or enter appointments. If I had no other application for the Blackberry this would have sold it for me.

Blackberry 8130

2008-03-26T07:50:00.003-05:00

I just got a BlackBerry 8130 (verizon) the otherday, I have to say so far I'm very impressed with it. Its going to take some getting used to, but I expect that anytime I learn a new Operating System and being that the phone has a lot of options and features it'll take a little longer for sure then a plain phone.

TSA gansta'

2008-03-08T11:02:00.003-06:00

This Youtube video does bluntly make you aware of some of the issues about the security theature that goes on at the airports now. I'm sure most of the employees at these check points are really good people but the system is set up for abuse, and it has been pointed out sevral times that security is actually no better, in fact worse then, pre-911.

**Warning**
This video is not work safe.

New gryffontech design with security blog

2008-02-27T15:52:00.003-06:00

http://gryffontech.com/

I finally got around to updating my gryffontech page to something much much better then the crap I through up there before. I also added a blog page on it for security news, discussion, and ideas.

2008-02-14T15:22:00.000-06:00

Loss of Civil Liberties Since 9/11

2008-02-11T14:46:00.000-06:00

http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/project.jsp?project=lossofcivilliberties

Google's new free 411 service

2008-02-05T01:07:00.000-06:00

After trying this out for the past month I highly recommend you add this number to your cell phone for use when trying to find a business while you are out.

phone number: (1-800-466-4411)
more information: http://www.google.com/goog411/

Brushing up on Tech skills that I have let slip

2008-01-14T13:39:00.000-06:00

I have currently been trying to catch up on some tech skill that I have been letting slip for a while now and have found some wonderful free online classes from CNET, a leading news company specializing in technical news and reviews.

Currently in a class for blogging, seeing what I can learn and whats hip in the area of blogging is my hope.

The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, Day 2)

2008-01-13T19:43:00.000-06:00

Just found out that the second of the Kingkiller Chronicles will be out in April, I'm so glad that I don't have a long wait for it

http://www.amazon.com/Wise-Mans-Fear-Kingkiller-Chronicle/dp/0756404738/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b

Favorite Diebold Variation parody ads

2008-01-09T11:13:00.000-06:00

ebook readers w/ e-ink

2008-01-07T11:08:00.000-06:00

Sony vs. Kindle

Ok so I've heard all the hype about the Kindle ebook reader using e-ink, but frankly i'm mystified, its awful looking, hard to hold, and just seems more like a beta-product then anything else. The Sony ebook reader though is nice looking, a lot easier to hold for long periods of time and they put as much screen on the device as they could with the buttons being along the edges and out of the way (for someone that likes to hold they book with their left hand at least), this just makes sense to me, I want to read a book not type why all the space for the keyboard on the kindle?

You decide, Sony ebook 1st, Kindle 2nd.

Google street view

2007-12-18T01:25:00.000-06:00

Awhile back I thought I saw what looked like a Google street view camera on top of a small van going down the street near my home so i looked for it on Google street view today and found a picture of me driving my car, to bad it is not very clear though.

Take a seat

2007-12-15T11:19:00.000-06:00

HP MediaSmart server give-a-way from geekbrief

2007-12-14T11:18:00.000-06:00

Go to http://www.geekbrief.tv/hp for the full details on the contest that geekbrief.tv is having.

Welcome to the official rules for the HP MediaSmart Server Give-a-way!

The contest begins December 11, 2007 and ends February 1st, 2008. Here’s how it’ll work. Each week Cali will announce the contest on GeekBrief.TV. You can enter to win a MediaSmart Server by sending an email to hp [at] geekbrief.com, and tell them why you want to win a MediaSmart Server. Limit one entry per person/per email address per week.

Please note, email will go straight to the PR firm overseeing the contest for HP. Please don’t send anything intended for GeekBrief.TV to this email address. You can find contact information for Cali here.

On February 5th, 2008, we will announce the winner on GeekBrief.TV.

What movies are you waiting for?

2007-12-05T23:46:00.000-06:00

I'm waiting for "The Golden Compass" to come out, it should be out Dec 7th

2007-12-05T00:28:00.000-06:00

AT&T Invents Programming Language for Mass Surveillance

Never underestimate what a large corporation will do for money

Scary times

2007-12-05T00:13:00.000-06:00

When you give away your civil liberties scary things can happen. Read the following pdf file for more on the "Protect America Act" that went into effect last month.

paa-comsec-draft.pdf

Finaly an open cell phone OS

2007-11-06T22:28:00.000-06:00

With Google behind Android it sounds like we might finally have a decent open OS for cell phones that will enable users to extend the cell phone applications.

See http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/android_overview.html for more information

get Orange....

2007-10-27T23:51:00.001-05:00

go here to get it http://orange.half-life2.com/

Vampire Cupcakes

2007-10-19T22:11:00.000-05:00

Ok so the last thing any of probably need for the holidays are another excuses to make and consume baked goods, but all the same I thought that this was at least worth the look.

see http://bakingbites.com/2007/10/vampire-cupcakes/ for the recipe.

TV Series I'm currently into

2007-10-16T10:20:00.000-05:00

 Show Name       :: current season ::      starts again    :: when new episodes
============================================
Dresden Files   :: Season 1           ::  canceled
Blood Ties       :: Season 2           ::  current
SG:1              :: Season 10          :: canceled
SG:Atlantis      :: Season 3           :: current
Dr. Who          :: Season 4?          ::
Dr. Who: The Sarah Jane Adventures
Torchwood      :: Season 2           ::
Eureka            :: Season 3           :: Summer 2008
BSG                :: Season 3?
IT Crowd         :: Season 3           :: ??

Any suggestions for sci-fi shows or more information about what I have would be welcomed

FYI - find public transit using Google maps

2007-10-03T22:19:00.001-05:00

Google Transit, Google’s public transport mapping feature, has graduated from Google Labs.

The service is now fully integrated into Google Maps, with users now being able to select “Take Public Transit” as an alternative to driving instructions.

new Larry Niven book comming October 16

2007-10-03T12:25:00.000-05:00

Larry Niven's new book Fleet Of Worlds is released on Oct 16th.

Cute picture

2007-09-24T14:48:00.000-05:00

alternate pdf reader

2007-09-12T12:37:00.000-05:00

Try Foxit reader for reading pdf files instead of the adobe reader.
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/downloads/

faster
easy to use
uses less memory
loads faster

PDF Creation

2007-09-09T19:53:00.001-05:00

Ever need to save a web page or document, not want to print it, but yet want an easy way to view it and maybe print it later if you want? Try saving the web page or document as a pdf (Adobe Document Format) the cross platform way to archive or send documents.

Try using PDFCreator, its free open source program that is easy to use. After installing just select "PDFCreator" as your printer and then you can transform any document or web page into a pdf doccument.

Extreamly beautiful pictures of a library

2007-09-07T22:41:00.000-05:00

http://www.curiousexpeditions.org/2007/09/a_librophiliacs_love_letter_1.html

random web find

2007-08-30T00:43:00.000-05:00

The Stanford Prison Experiment

Philip Zimbardo was curious about why prisons are such violent places. Is it because of the character of their inhabitants, or is it due to the corrosive effect of the power structure of the prisons themselves?

To find out, Zimbardo created a mock prison in the basement of the Stanford psychology department. He recruited clean-cut young men as volunteers — none had criminal records and all rated "normal" on psychological tests — and he randomly assigned half of them to play the role of prisoners and the other half to play guards. His plan was that he would step back for two weeks and observe how these model citizens interacted with each other in their new roles.

What happened next has become the stuff of legend.

Social conditions in the mock prison deteriorated with stunning rapidity. On the first night the prisoners staged a revolt, and the guards, feeling threatened by the insubordination of the prisoners, cracked down hard. They began devising creative ways to discipline the prisoners, using methods such as random strip-searches, curtailed bathroom privileges, verbal abuse, sleep deprivation, and the withholding of food.

Under this pressure, prisoners began to crack. The first one left after only thirty-six hours, screaming that he felt like he was "burning up inside." Within six days, four more prisoners had followed his lead, one of whom had broken out in a full-body stress-related rash. It was clear that for everyone involved the new roles had quickly become more than just a game.

Even Zimbardo himself felt seduced by the corrosive psychology of the situation. He began entertaining paranoid fears that his prisoners were planning a break-out, and he tried to contact the real police for help. Luckily, at this point Zimbardo realized things had gone too far. Only six days had passed, but already the happy college kids who had begun the experiment had transformed into sullen prisoners and sadistic guards.

Zimbardo called a meeting the next morning and told everyone they could go home. The remaining prisoners were relieved, but tellingly, the guards were upset. They had been quite enjoying their new-found power and had no desire to give it up.

Star Tribune

2007-08-29T15:45:00.000-05:00

After I pre-paid for a 1 year subscription to the Star Tribune and did not receive it regularly either do to theft or bad deliveries I called and complained, they said they would deliver to my apartment door instead of the complex door. I continued to not receive the paper so I called and cancelled letting them know why. Now I get a collection note saying that I didn't pay for it... I told them how I canceled it and after playing phone tag for a while I got them to say that they will withdraw the collection at least. not to bad, considering they owe me still for 6 months of deliveries, but I consider that gone and just want to cut all ties with such crappy company that will resort to any means to make a buck.

History of Typewriters

2007-08-29T12:36:00.000-05:00

I just came across this more or less randomly, and find it interesting to look at some of what led up to the laptop of today. With the low-tech of the eras some of these machines were little miracles in design, absolutely stunning in looks as well as practice design.

http://staff.xu.edu/~polt/typewriters/tw-history.html

GW:EN is out!!

2007-08-25T19:30:00.000-05:00

Well the preview anyhow... I wasn't sure what I would think about the next add on to GuildWars but I do like it so far it adds a lot more content then I thought it would from the talks I have seen on it. Here is a screen shot of my Assassin going into the vortex.

William A. Irvin tour in Duluth, MN

2007-08-23T21:01:00.000-05:00

This is how they get by in the UP of MI

2007-08-23T20:51:00.000-05:00

Glass Bottom boat tour

2007-08-22T22:01:00.001-05:00

Panoramic stich #1

2007-08-21T07:13:00.000-05:00

UP day #2 pictues

2007-08-21T07:03:00.000-05:00

2007 Summer Trip

2007-08-20T19:54:00.000-05:00

Me and Carolyn are having a blast on our trip and its only the 2nd day so far.

Coffee Kiss

2007-08-17T01:20:00.000-05:00

The Firefly

2007-08-15T16:04:00.001-05:00

Here's pictures of the Firefly restaurant where my brother has been employed for the past several months.

Click here for the restaurant's web page

Collected works of Friedrich Nietzsche

2007-07-26T08:14:00.000-05:00

This site is nice, is has all his works listed in a nice tight way for easy web viewing. Probably not the best sight to read a long work, although nice if you are just needing to look for something specific.

Great talk about how to manage your e-mail

2007-07-26T01:54:00.001-05:00

Fort Snelling day trip

2007-07-24T01:56:00.000-05:00

Me and Carolyn:
Me and my parents:

more info on Fort Snelling site here

Pictures of Corwin & Dee's baby

2007-07-17T19:17:00.000-05:00

Boss

2007-05-16T22:35:00.000-05:00

Boss being cute as a button.

2007-05-16T22:29:00.000-05:00

Vlad's Castle

Long time

2007-05-16T21:59:00.000-05:00

Been far to long since my last blog post, almost a year in fact.... wow how time flies. Just had another birthday, the years don't seem to matter much any more as they are just numbers now to me unlike when I was younger, but that was to be expected. My birthday went well although nothing to exciting but that's normally for the best it seems, there is nothing wrong with a fairly relaxing day with family.

A Walk MPLS downtown

2006-05-22T16:25:00.000-05:00

Cari and I took the lightrail for the first time today to downtown and walked around the skyway, under the governement center and to the new Library.

A Day at the Aborratum

2006-05-22T11:39:00.000-05:00

We had a great time wondering around the many short trails here and then enjoyed a quick lunch with nature around us before heading back to the cities.

Christmas tree with lights

2005-12-17T18:09:00.000-06:00

Our Christmas tree at night

THE WORLD'S SIMPLEST QUIZ ?

2005-12-17T17:15:00.000-06:00

Think the answers to this quiz are self-evident? They might not be as easy as you think. The questions are from The People's Almanac, by David Wallachinsky and Amy Wallace.

1. How long did the Hundred Years' War last?
2. In which month did Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
3. In which country are Panama hats made?
4. From which country do we get Peruvian Balsam?
5. Which seabird has the zoological name Puffinus puffinus?
6. From which animal do we get catgut?
7. From which material are moleskin trousers made?
8. Where do Chinese gooseberries come from?
9. Louis the XVIII was the last one, but how many previous kings of
France were called Louis?
10. What kind of creatures were the Canary Islands named after?
11. What was King George VI's first name?
12. What color is a purple finch?
13. In what season of the year does William Shakespeare's A
Midsummer Night's Dream take place?
14. What is a camel's hair brush made of?
15. How long did the Thirty Years' War last?

Decorated Christmas Tree

2005-12-16T11:00:00.000-06:00

The lights on the tree don't really show up here, I'll try and take one with the lights on this evening.

Christmas at the apartment

2005-12-13T01:37:00.000-06:00

Just Cari and I with our gingerbread house, tree, and pets.

Gingerbread House

2005-12-07T02:23:00.000-06:00

Our first Christmas decoration

The cats on a friday night

2005-11-18T18:09:00.000-06:00