This has been a great book so far. Not only is Kevin a very sociable person but he is a very entertaining writer. His stories are amazing. To think that he left some out.
http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Wires-Adventures-Worlds-Wanted/dp/0316037702
Watch is interview with Snubs on Hak5. “23 Questions with Kevin Mitnick”
I am on the verge of purchasing an ebook reader. I currently read most of my books on my iPad or iPhone. However I have found that in some cases this is not the most reliable readers.
I find my iPhone great because it is always with me. However it is not good in the Sun or the beach (sand). The iPad is a better experience but I typically forget it when we travel.
I have been looking at a book (non color ). I can get books from the library and it does ePub format. Though I use kindle on my iPhone and iPad I think this the better choice. The kindle may have the better system to purchase books bit I am cheap and the library does a good job.
In a similar topic here are some views regarding hard cover books and ebooks
http://m.cnet.com/Article.rbml?nid=20051201&cid=latest&bid=82&webref=reviews.cnet.com/8301-18438_7-20051201-82.html%3f
The cost of an ebook is as much or more than the hard cover. This is based onthe release date. I’m not against this. But I find the value difficult to stomach when the production of an ebook costs next to nothing and takes about an hour.
I love to use a good pen. I recently lost my good Cross pen that I always have carried. In the spirit of being frugal I decided to see what I could find on a budget. I came across a quick post on lifehacker discussing a Mont Blanc Pen for $15 bucks. Being a person who likes a good pen, I decided to give this little project a try.
The steps are pretty easy.
1. Get a G2 pen (pro or regular) I did both.
2. Purchase Mont Blanc refills – I got 15158
3. Trim the plastic end of the refill – I used a utility knife
4. Re-assemble and enjoy.
I chose the G2 pro for the more executive look, but realized I like the clear regular G2 becuase you can see the Mont Blanc and it reminds me that I am using a nice writing utensil.
Lifehacker article: http://lifehacker.com/186819/convert-a-3-pen-into-a-200-pen
Read the entire how-to at indistructuables : http://www.instructables.com/id/Save-%24200-in-2-minutes-and-have-the-worlds-best-wr/#step1
I always think about work life balance. I’m what you would call a workaholic. I don’t go to extremes as the definition says, but I do enjoy to work and feel that it is something that is part of me.
In my readings I came across this presentation by Nigel Marsh at TED
Find a Balance Between Work and Life Through Small Strategic Changes
There was an interesting article on lifehacker regarding offline file shareing. Kind of like the old “sneaker net”. Where you would put files on a disk and walk the over to someone. The concept of this offline peer-to-peer is to place a flashdrive or similar item into a permanent fixture and people go to that location and either leave info or pick up info.
I’m not sure if this will go any where but it made me think of how offline info is important and useful. Wouldn’t it be interesting that instead of a physical device it was more of a virtual thing. Instead of a flash drive, how about a wireless network that was open and had a file share on it. To get to the information you would have to physically be in the area of the Wireless network (say 100 yards or so) to get or share data.
So instead of being offline it would be more like off the grid. Because this would require some power to run the wifi.
http://lifehacker.com/5689159/create-an-offline-peer+to+peer-filesharing-network-with-usb-dead-drops
I have had an AOL AIM instant message account for a long time (jimiz12 – IM me if you like). Just recently in the last 4 days, I started to get text messages on my Cell Phone from AIM. I thought that was interesting because I don’t remember every giving AOL / AIM my cell phone number. If I remember properly I did not even have this cellphone number when I created my AIM account.
I wonder what changed on the AIM side. I also wonder how they got my cellphone. Here is a picture of one of the messages. It is interesting that they allow you to block the message by responding. I decided I did not want to reply at all to let them know what I was even on the other end (at first I thought this was spam – not from AOL / AIM).
AOL Spam
So I decided to actually log into AIM and see what setting were available. I typically use Diggsby for my IM client (that does not contain my phone number either). To check AIM settings I used the web version of AIM. It had a thing called Lifestream, I’m starting to think that lifestream is the cause of this new text spam. I finally stumbled upon a AIM mobile setting that allows you to turn off text messages from that system. Interestingly enough, I don’t remember ever telling them I wanted or would like to get text messages. Since I have not logged into AIM in a long time (few years) I can’t imagine that I just recently said yes to anything.
Here is the process to go into AIM and turn off the text messages. Again, interesting. They ask me for my cellphone number and they will send me a code to disable messages. Good thing I have a texting plan, or this would have cost me money.
Here is the message with the confirmation code. In step 4 you get to disable the text messages, I can’t imagine why I would have enabled them in the beginning.
After this process I am starting to wonder how much more text spam I will be getting in the future. I think with any service, I will start using my google voice number to allow for text spam to be handled in my browser instead of my phone.
I am excited, the weather has got a bit colder and today ND football starts. Not only that the EPL (english soccer) has been playing for the last 3 weeks and it has been great. Saturday morning means getting excited about all the games going on.
So with all the great technology we have I still can’t watch a sporting event on demand. Not many providers allow you to do that. Hulu, netflix, streaming services are all great, but they miss sports. ESPN 360 / 3 is fantastic. But the majority of the games I want to see EPL / Champions league, and ND football are not available live. I continually wonder if there is a potential for a company or network to step in and provide this service.
As a soccer fan I have to pay a ton of money just to get some of the games. FoxSoccer is available from most Cable and Dish networks, but always in the top level of subscription. If you want all the games from a particular team you have to purchase an on-demand account via the web (Manchester united). As for football Notre Dame, since they play on ABC it is almost impossible to find a legal option to watch the games. You can always use Justintv.com or ustream to find the game, but that takes a lot of time to find a good stream.
If you have any better ideas for me on how to watch my Teams (ND and Manchester United) let me know. If you want to start an online sports streaming network or site, let me know and I’ll participate in the beta and testing.
Until then GO Notre Dame, Hope, and Manchester United.
I get 4 magazines. Linux Journal, Wired, Inc, and Money Magazine. I really enjoy each. Inc has so much information and ideas it makes me both excited and angry when I read it each month. Money always gives me ideas and motivation to keep saving and how to continue to invest. Wired Magazine is just to keep up with trends and get some fun reading. Linux Journal is just a true love. No matter what I am doing, I enjoy reading LJ, it has so many cool ideas and gadgets.
This week while traveling I read the most recent copy of Wired. There was an article about Radio Shack. How it has changed it’s name, image, and what it sells. What I found interesting was how the franchise is changing what it’s focus is. They are moving away from hobbyist and moving to be a mobile device seller. The basis for this change is that the margin and the sales commission on a cellular phone is great money.
The change in focus means that the Do It Yourself hobbyist and tinkerer loses out. The “Shack” as they are re-branding themselves are continuing to drop inventory of the items that people have known them for. Soldering irons, transistors, circuit boards, and connectors are going away to make room for cellular accessories.
This is very sad for me to hear. After reading the article it sounds like most of this change has already happened. The article focused on one small shop that is ignoring the change and catering to the core customers that radio shack has had for years. This shop happens to be right down the road from Make (makezine.com). The “Shack” is exactly the type of shop that readers of Make, Popular science, and DIY require to do projects. The trend these days is to use and throw away. If your printer breaks, I’m guessing you are not going to spend any time trying to fix it. You will probably just junk it and buy another one. That is what most people do these days, no one tries to fix anything any more.
I realize that retail is changing, but a Radio Shack that does not carry a connector or soldering irons is really not that useful to me. If I need mobile accessories or a mobile phone, I’ll get that over the internet. I could order most of the supplies I need (connectors, circuit boards, etc..) online but is always costly to ship and also make sure I have the right size. I am sad to see a store like the Shack change.
I use windows media center on my home theater / basement Projector. Thanks to the wonderful message I got from Comcast that my area is going all digital, I won’t be able to use my system much longer.
1st on my Media center / TiVo I lost the channel data (comcast no longer provides this to analog users) I have preferred basic
2nd – they are making me get a Digital cable box to use (has it’s own remote, and does the channel changing)
3rd – as far as I know there are not any options with a tuner card that will do or contain a cable card (since I have 2 tuners – I would need two of them)
- here is a quick post list of options with the DTA http://getsatisfaction.com/comcast/topics/using_pc_tv_card_and_windows_media_center_with_comcast_digital_tv_converter_box
I am a bit angry at comcast for this change. I get the new and improved service, but what about us techies and people using newer technology.
I’m currently reading the book “Getting Things Done”.
I have not posted much so I figure I can just update on what is going on.
I am currently reading Stealing the Network: How to Own a Continent link here (www.amazon.com) It is part of the stealing the network series. It is a great read. Mostly a mixture of real exploits and technologies is a sci-fi thriller. Not too many new technologies used in the book, but some great concepts on how to get around systems that may or may not be vulnerable.
I am a huge fan of nmap and have always used this tool in all of my jobs and projects. So I came about this book from reading an interview with fyodor over at insecure.org. Here is his comments about the book Many great names in the security industry were asked to author parts of this book. It makes for a great read.
If you are interested in security or possibly just curious about hacking this may be a fun book to read.
I am currently reading a Carl Hiaasen book called “Sick Puppy”. I was turned onto this author from a friend at work. He knew I like the Jimmy Buffett style books and recommend Carl. So far I have read 2 other books. “Skinny Dip” and “Strip Tease”. I really enjoy his style and writing.
From what I can tell all of his books are set in Flordia and are very funny. If you have free time, pick on up. It is hard to put these books down.
One of the individuals I work with recommend I read Carl Hiaasen. I had not heard of him before. But, I was told his books are somewhat like Jimmy Buffett books and very enjoyable to read. The kind where you get lost in both the story and the characters.
Well this book hit that mark. It was a hard to stop reading kind of book. Where the guy gets the girl and the bad guys go to jail. I won’t ruin the story, but it is worth reading. I have more Carl Hiaasen books on order.
I tend to read a lot during the summer.
It is summer and I read a lot during this time of the year. I often slide between some technical book (currently reading extreme hacking) and fun books. The book I just finished was “Odd Thomas” by Dean Koontz. I have read a few of his books and they are always entertaining. YOu can find out more here http://www.randomhouse.com/bantamdell/koontz/ot_book.html
Very good read. And also quick. I do have to say the ending caught me off guard.
I am currently reading Touching the Void A great Book about 2 climbers facing danger and the great outdoors. It is Joe Simpson’s account of a near-death experience in the Peruvian Andes.
I will update you on the status of this book later on.
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