My Latest Addictions

For whatever reason I've been glued to my Xbox 360 lately. Call of Duty 4 and Need for Speed: Pro Street are hard to put down. Maybe it's the cheat codes that keep me coming back. Ha.

QR-Code for Styrofeen

Marry Google, They'll Back Your Company

Larry Page, co-founder of Google, is set to wed in December. He is following in the footsteps of the other Google co-founder, Sergey Brin. Brin, who married 23andMe, Inc. founder Anne Wojcicki, provided $3.9 million to the "web-based service that helps you read and understand your DNA". Perhaps Page will be looking for a biomedical informatics company to back since bride-to-be Lucy Southworth is a Ph.D. candidate in the formerly mentioned field.

The Sunday Linker: 11/4/07

• The economics of sugar daddying.
  
• We all have the need to show we're grateful. Here are 10 great ways to show it. BONUS: If you've got a long plane ride coming up and really want to change your life, pick up a copy of Are You Ready to Succeed? by Srikumar Rao.
  
• Your alarm goes off, time for work. What to do with your pajamas?
• Use Firefox? Keep any eye on your procrastination with MeeTimer.

Photo by paperocks a.k.a. evalinda

My Google Reader RSS Trends

I try not to get stuck on my Google Reader trend reports but I thought I would share them today. It appears that over the last 30 days I have pulled from 37 subscriptions. Of those I have read 827 items, starred 57 and shared 56. I lack in the emailed department as I haven't sent anyone a single item.

The most read blogs on my list are:

1. No Silence Here
2. Uncrate
3. Property Scope
4. Freakonomics
5. Web Worker Daily
   

Xbox 360 Replacement Saga: Part 3

What I thought would be a saga actually turned out to be a pleasant experience. Yesterday my Xbox was returned (not the one I purchased but a repaired replacement) by UPS ready for the NCAA 2008 that awaited it. Hats off to Microsoft for making my three red lights affair painless.

Xbox 360 Replacement Saga: Part 2

My last report on September 25 left you hanging on the status of the box that would haul my Xbox back to the factory for repairs. UPS finally delivered the all white box to my front door later that same day. I quickly packaged it up according to their included instructions. On September 26 I dropped it off at my closest UPS location. This morning I decided to track the box and see if UPS delivered on their 3 Day Select drop off option. As of 9:29AM this morning, my Xbox has been rescheduled to arrive on October 1 (6 total days in transit) at the refurbishing plant. Why do I have a feeling it's going to be a while before I get to enjoy Halo 3?

Xbox 360 Replacement Saga: Part 1

On Wednesday, September 19, I sat down to enjoy a quick game of NCAA Football 2008 on my Xbox 360. However, I received the three red lights of death. I quickly called Microsoft support and received generous help from a young man on the other line. He told me that UPS would be delivering a box to my house for which I would pack my Xbox in (console only) and return to Microsoft for repairs. He also stated that the box would arrive in 3 days.

Here we are, day 6 and no box. Microsoft (with the help of UPS) has until tonight to deliver on their promise or they'll be receiving more phone calls from me.

'Virtual Border' Headed In Wrong Direction

We can track a package any time of the day in any country in the world yet after 3 months we still can't get our 28 miles of virtual fence to work. Sorry for the immigration rants today.

One Issue. One Day. Blog It!

What would happen if all bloggers posted on the same topic on the same day? It's not my job to find out but the folks over at Blog Action Day are certainly curious. According to their website some mighty famous bloggers have signed up. Lifehacker, ZenHabits, SEOMoz, Young Go Getter and more.

Publish a post on their blog which relates to an issue of their own choice pertaining to the environment.

For example: A blog about money might write about how to save around the home by using environmentally friendly ideas. Similarly a blog about politics might examine what weight environmental policy holds in the political arena.

Posts do not need to have any specific agenda, they simply need to relate to the larger issue in whatever way suits the blogger and readership. Our aim is not to promote one particular viewpoint, only to push the issue to the table for discussion.

eSmiley Face Turns 25 Years Old

Scott Fahlman, of Carnegie Mellon University, claims he was the first to coin the digital smiley face, :-). He says that he began using it 25 years ago via a message board. Who knew?

The suggestion gave computer users a way to convey humor or positive feelings with a smile - or the opposite sentiments by reversing the parenthesis to form a frown.