Author: John Bollwitt

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Blogger taken into beta by Google

Finally, after buying Blogger a few years ago, Google is starting to make some changes. I would say improvements, but that remains to be seen.

The new Blogger is only available to new users and a select group of existing users right now. A full roll-out will happen “eventually,” according to Blogger’s Buzz news blog. Blogger users who want to try out the new tools can sign up for a new user account under a different name, then merge their accounts later.

New features include the addition of tags, which Blogger calls “labels,” to posts and photos. The new beta also has updated privacy and user management options which allow for private posts, tiered user permissions and multi-author blogging. Blog owners can define whitelists of “blog authors” and “blog readers” who have access to publish and read blog content. [wired]

When I first started out blogging, and like many other people out there in the same boat, I used Blogger. And for those just getting into the whole blogging thing, it’s great. More importantly, it’s free. All you need to get going with your own blog is an unused name for your URL and internet access.

Oh wait, did I just say that it’s great? I meant to say that it can be a real pain, and that goes beyond your butt. The reliability isn’t always the best. Somedays it will publish your posts, other days you’ll sit staring at the screen screaming, “Oh come on already! PUBLISH!”

There’s lots of other things about Blogger that made me jump to WordPress, and I haven’t looked back since. It’s about time Google did something about it. They’re promising lots of changes to come. I’m curious to see what they come up with.

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Dell battery recall could cost you time

If you have a laptop from Dell, then you’ll want to check out their website for a massive battery recall that is going on.  And by massive, I mean Dell wants a few million of them back because they might catch fire on you.  A ticking time bomb?  Not exactly, but you’re better safe than sorry.

Hold on, though.  The exchange process can leave you crippled and plugged into a wall for a few weeks until your replacement arrives.

Laptop owners seeking replacements for recalled batteries will receive priority if they use the Dell special site set up to handle the recall, the company said today. However, users of many Latitude, Inspiron, Precision, XPS, and mobile workstation models may still be stuck with only AC power for a few weeks.

Dell has been “cranking battery production over the last couple of weeks” with its battery suppliers in preparation for this massive recall, says spokesperson Gretchen Miller. If you determine via the Dell Battery Recall site or by calling the company at 866-342-0011 that you have a potentially defective battery, Dell will send a replacement along with postage-paid packaging to return the old one. But it may take weeks to get the new battery, or longer for certain out-of-production models.

In the meantime, you can safely use the laptop with the AC power cord. But since replacement batteries are not available in stores, only from the Dell Web site, the recall process is likely your fastest option, Miller says.  [pcworld]

Something to consider if portability is important to you.  Just plan accordingly.  I want to make a “dude” joke here, but it’s probably better left unsaid.

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YouTube goes down; people discover a world outside

I find things like this interesting.  I had bandwidth problems most of today, meaning Shaw was sucking big time, but YouTube is something I pass by once and a while.  For others, I bet there were some people going through withdrawl.

YouTube, the popular video hosting site, was hit with an outage four almost five hours Tuesday as a result of database troubles.

The site, which allows viewers to tune into uploaded videos ranging from seniors making their homespun video debut to polished user-submitted film clips, went down at 7:30 a.m. (PST) leaving viewers with a tongue-in-cheek graphic of the company’s database woes. Although the notice stated that new features were being added to the site, it turns out that wasn’t the case.

“There are no new features being added today. This page went up mistakenly,” said company spokeswoman Julie Supan.  [cnet]

This takes me back to an episode of the DSC a short time ago where the Curry’s were talking about how their daughter popped out of her bedroom one night while MySpace disappeared for some hours.  She was forced away from an online world and into the kitchen with her mom.  According to the podcast, the daughter was helpful and sweet.  At the same time, she had nothing better to do.

When we saw Douglas Coupland at CBC’s Studio One Book Club a few months ago[post], even he stated how he could and would spend all day on YouTube, probably absorbing ideas for his writing projects.  I bet there were some offices that experienced an increase in productivity today as well.   Oh yeah, that’s what Google Video is for.

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RadioZoom Episode #107 – Six Song Donut Spectactular: August 2006

A selection of tunes that makes me happy, and I hope this episode will do the same for you.

For the month of August, the Six(plus one) Song is here for your listening pleasure. The day started off rough, and with no bandwidth to speak of until this afternoon, I felt like kicking out the jams and rocking out. The only real theme to today is that all of this music is played with direct, artist permission. Please check out the links to the artists and help them out with your support! [radiozoom]

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Eat at Rolly’s

Rolly's in Hope, B.C.I was going through my photo library on my laptop and came across pictures from the weekend getaway that Rebecca and I took to the Okanagan a few months ago. Perhaps one of these days I will get around to posting some of those to my Flickr. When you take a boy who has lived in the rolling prairies of the midwest all his life into the mountains, he tends to get a little camera happy.

Let me just say, landslides are impressive. I fear them now.

We stopped in Hope, B.C. for some breakfast on our way out, obviously at Rolly’s. Personally, this will be one of the most memorable parts of our trip because not only is the food good, but that little grease stop is too cool. Never before in my life have I ever felt more like Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction[imdb]. The locals kept looking at Rebecca and I like we were going to rob the place ourselves. That doesn’t imply that they were unfriendly. We just weren’t apart of the local crowd, and it might be fair to say that this fact was on the obvious side.

Still, I will make my demands that anytime we pass through Hope and are looking for a meal, we’re stopping at Rolly’s.

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Cranberry slurpees are divine

I’ve been able to replace my summertime craving for ice cream with slurpees. Truth is, I can really go for ice cream at anytime of year. Even back home, when it is -15F in the dead of winter, there’s nothing better than grabbing some ice cream. A blizzard during a blizzard? Done that many times, but back to slurpees…

Just the other day, a new flavor popped up on one of the machines we frequent. Cranberry. Most of the time, colors are the flavor. And until that wonderful day last week, orange was my favorite, closely followed by blue. However, cranberry has knocked both of them from the top and earned the honor of being called by its true name.

A flavor this good cannot be called by it’s color. I’m sorry. I just can’t get myself to do it.

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I’m crazy for your touch

The Black Keys (Photo Credit: Joseph Russell[flickr])I probably don’t write about music enough, and it’s sad that a recent string of Victoria’s Secret commercials is what prompts me to share my love for The Black Keys. Yes, that looped music in the background of Heidi Klum’s latest endorsement for some high tech bra is them. I guess it could be worse. What’s more rock and roll than half naked women and damn good music?

I’m not sure where The Black Keys[wiki] fit in the realm of popular music these days, but it seems that they were on the track of being made to be the next big thing. You know, overhyped and pushed by all the hot music media outlets to be the band to watch for. I can’t be sure that it ever took hold. The Black Keys just kept doing their own thing and the masses let them go by. I think they might have surfaced on The O.C., but that crap doesn’t count.

I guess the other part to my fascination with the group is that they’re just two guys, but holy crap can they tear it up. I haven’t even seen them live yet, but you can just sense from their studio recordings that they would be an excellent show to see. It’s stripped down without feeling empty.

Dan Auerbach plays fuzz guitar with a southern blues feel, reverb on the vocals, and that sound makes me want to own a record player. Maybe it’s nostalgia talking, but that’s the feeling I get. Yeah, I might be a little too young for the glory of the days when music was only available on vinyl, but the charm is something I’m a big fan of.

I’ve been able to get some previews into their soon to be released album, Magic Potion. I loved Thickfreakness, and Rubber Factory chimed in just fine. This new album is outstanding, and you really should mark your calendar for September 12, 2006. The new stuff hits the shelves on that day.

Photo credit: Joseph Russell [flickr]

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Getting chased down by minivans

I let myself fall out of routine this week.  Rebecca is going to work an hour early all this week, the plus side being that she gets off an hour sooner as well.  That makes for a slight change in how everything works in your day, so I made it a point to get a little more sleep and take a super long run this morning.  There’s just something about it that makes your internal sense of well being come back around.

The last block of every run, I burst into a dead of a sprint that my body has energy left for.  It’s at this point that your body has expelled the stored fuel that you get from eating meals from the past 24 hours.  Just as much as you are digging deep to breathe and keep your legs moving, your body is doing the same with your fat reserves.  Pleasent thought, I know, but it’s something that tends to run through my head everytime I hit this point.  That, “my god, don’t fail me now.”

Today, there was a brown minivan that suddenly appeared in my peripherial vision.  It pulled ahead, slowed up, pulled ahead again, and waved.  I noticed her somewhere in the middle there.  I knew that this person wanted directions.  The nice thing would be to stop and help, so I did.

“Do you know…  can you tell me…  the intersection of Pender and…  um, Davie?”

Her english had a hispanic accent to it.  I was fighting to maintain my breath and not spit as I spoke.  Getting beyond that thought, I knew this woman had no clue where she was going or looking for.

I’ve lived her long enough to understand that the streets she was looking for don’t intersec at all.  From the downtown core to Stanley Park, the area sits on a bit of a penninsula.  The streets she was looking for run parallel to each other, on opposite sides of said penninsula.  When I asked if she meant Pendrell, she said that must be it.  Struggling to breathe through my words, I directed her to where she needed to go.

As she started driving backwards down the street, I continued in the same direction that she stopped me in.  At that point, I realized that she is going to be looking for Davie and Pendrell.  Those streets run parallel to each other as well, but only a block apart from each other.  That’s when I heard horns honking at the brown minivan for going backwards on a two way street.  She was lost, and quite possibly insane.

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Maverick!!!

Snowbirds buzzing the towerHoly crap.  The Snowbirds[wiki] just buzzed my apartment building.

I heard something loud, and a lot like a jet.  When the sound seemed like it was increasing to no end, I jumped to the window in time to see not one, but a formation of eight planes streaking across the sky.

They came back for another pass, starting out by coming over Stanley Park, into Coal Harbor, circling around the downtown core, and heading back towards English Bay.  Then they peaked back into the West End for a moment before heading back out into Kits.

This is the best I could do for grabbing a good photo of it since Rebecca has my camera for the night.  She is heading to Seattle to catch Real Madrid take on D.C. United and took the minidisc in hopes of capturing some good audio for the podcast as well.   I’d go, but crossing the border right now wouldn’t help my immigration status very much.

Not bad for a cellphone and a bit of editing, and I heard people swearing from somewhere when the jets passed over.  This is after we had a chopper circling the Empire Landmark[wiki] with a camera bubble stuck on its nose last week.  That was a good hour or so of annoyance, but it doesn’t happen very often.

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Farewell, Professor Van Allen

Professor James Van Allen - June 14, 2005One of the neatest things that I can recall from my early days of becoming a lifelong geek was discovering that something in space was named after a guy who was born and raised not far from my home. I think that’s common for anyone who has some one from their home state do something that makes you proud to say that you are not afraid to say where you are from.

Then in high school, you are taught by physics teachers who studied under the guy. I had an interest in astronomy that died out during these years, but that didn’t make me any less interested in learning more about it. The Van Allen radiation belts? James Van Allen[wiki] was that guy.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Physicist James A. Van Allen, a leader in space exploration who discovered the radiation belts surrounding the Earth that now bear his name, died Wednesday. He was 91.

The University of Iowa, where he taught for years, announced the death in a statement on its Web site. [globeandmail]

When I worked at WSUI, we used to venture downtown for various live remotes that we would have to setup for, and that would take us to Van Allen Hall, the physics building that is named after him. We’d park the car in one of the official vehicle spots just outside the lecture hall, and there was one, professor emeritus, reserved parking spot that had an older, green, Jeep Cherokee in it. That was Professor Van Allen’s, and it was usually there every single time we dropped by.

Professor James Van Allen - June 14, 2005Even in his 90’s, he was still leading projects and heading into his office nearly every single day. I’m not sure to what capacity, but if you had a some sort of physics research that needed some help in getting a monetary grant from some institution, who else would be better to help sign off on it? He changed a lot about space travel with his discoveries, and the life he led is hardly a dull one.

These pictures are a few snaps that I took when BBC Radio wanted to do an ISDN[wiki] interview with him from our studios in Iowa City on June 14, 2005. He was the kindest man, parking in the lot out front with that classic, green Jeep. His wit was still pretty sharp, and the stories he told were fascinating.

I can’t even recall what the BBC wanted with him, and it doesn’t even matter. I just remember being so excited to shake his hand on that day. It’s not so much about him being a celebrity as it is meeting a great man. A lifetime of researching and discovering new things is an incredible thing in my opinion.

“Certainly one of the most enthralling things about human life is the recognition that we live in what, for practical purposes, is a universe without bounds.”
– James Van Allen (September 7, 1914 – August 9, 2006)