Proud Geek

I got my beloved a Roomba for Christmas.  At the press of a button, it jigs and jags through our home, cleaning our wooden floors and rugs.  Using its cilia-like brushes, it cleans the edges along the walls.  Using its roller brushes, it sweeps the floor clean of dust, cat hair, crumbs, and any other residues of everyday life.

Plus, it provides minutes of entertainment for our daughters.  Any minute that our daughters are kept occupied is a minute of peace and blessings, indeed.  Until they try to go Roomba-surfing, that is.

Easy life, huh?  I thought we had it made.

Until last night, that is.  Yesterday, I saw my neighbor’s Husqvarna Auto Mower mowing the grass on its own.

According to its webpage, the Auto Mower is weather-proof, theft-proof, mulches your lawn, silent enough to run during the night, mows up-hill, and is pet-friendly.

Dammit.  I gotta keep up with the Joneses.  I’m going to buy one, even if it breaks our bank account.

Here’s a photo of the Auto Mower at work on our neighbor’s lawn.  (Click for a larger version.)  Double-dammit.

WiFi flat-screen televisions without any cords or cables coming soon? Maybe, according to a recent CNN article.

These televisions would use a special box to send HD-quality video to flat-screen televisions.  Nice being able to mount these televisions on the wall without worrying about cables.  But then again, what about power?

I’ve blogged recently about razor-thin bendable televisions and bendable batteries.  I also wrote about the possibility of beaming electricity through the air instead of through wires.   So, putting all these together, perhaps in several years we’ll be rolling up our televisions and taking them with us for easy viewing at our local Starbucks (or, better yet, barista-equipped McDonalds with free WiFi service)?  Hmm.

Got a hankering to know just exactly what time it is, whereever you are? Wanting to synchronize time with your pals but can’t decide whose watch / smartphone has exactly the correct time?

Go pay time.gov a visit on your mobile device / smartphone / pager.

But what’s that? Time.gov’s Java-enabled functions doesn’t work on your smartphone? (These Java pages make it possible to see the time in real time on computers and Java-enabled phones - with the seconds running.) Don’t fret. Almost buried in a corner of many time.gov pages is a tiny link saying “Disable Java Animation” — clicking on this link allows you to see a non-Java version of that page. In fact, when you find your time zone and then get the non-Java version of that page, don’t forget to bookmark it on your smartphone’s web browser so you can quickly refer to it again. But keep in mind that, unlike Java versions of these pages, non-Java time.gov pages only show the time at the exact time the page was loaded onto your browser - that is, the time isn’t updated automatically unless you refresh the page.

I know many smartphones - including the Palm Treos - can automatically get the time and date from the network. But leaving this functionality on can be a huge power drain for the Palm Treos (and possibly other devices) - so that’s where having a bookmark to time.gov can come in handy if you leave this functionality off.

I’ll make it easy for you. Here’s a list of links to the non-Java pages of the various USA time zones. Gosh, ain’t it interesting how many time zones there really are in the USA and its territories? And remember when Alaska’s number of time zones changed from the previous four to just two now?

Happy times are indeed here! (And yes, I had previously blogged about checking time.gov from your computer.)

List of non-Java versions of time.gov time zone webpages:

• Atlantic time zone
• Eastern time zone
  
• Central time zone
• Mountain time zone
  
• Mountain time zone (Arizona, non-Navajo, no Daylight Saving)
• Pacific time zone
• Alaska time zone
• Hawaii / Aleutian time zone (Aleutian Islands, no Daylight Saving)
• Hawaii / Aleutian time zone
• Samoa and Midway time zone
• Marshall and Wake Islands time zone
• Kwajalein Island time zone
• Federated Islands of Micronesia (Caroline) time zone
• Chamorro time zone
• Palau time zone

Viable certainly didn’t disappoint us. It unveiled the newest videophone, the VPAD — and it looks like it’s going to be a winner.

Some features that I think we’ll all like:

• WiFi connectivity - that means we can take the VPAD to our local Starbucks, or on out-of-town trips to hotel rooms, or even to many McDonalds (which now provide free WiFi service).
• Touch-screen that’s 10.2″ wide.
• Optional keyboard via USB cable
• Light alerts along the top of the monitor
• Ability to hook the VPAD up to a larger TV, or even another electronic device (like gaming devices) to the VPAD
• A slot for SD memory cards (altho I wonder what this would be for — can we record conversations? Or only use the VPAD to display photos and possibly videos?)

The Viable’s VPAD webpage even has a 3D demo mini-video. Go check it out.

When can I get my grubby paws on one? However, it doesn’t look like there’s a sign-up list as of yet. No distribution date.

And while I’m at it: SnapVRS, I don’t even have an Ojo unit. When do I get one? Sorenson, I have one of the older VP-100’s and have yet to get a VP-200. Hint-hint-hint … :-P

EDIT: Amy Cohen Efron (who scooped me with her blog post earlier today about the unveiling of this VPAD - good going, Amy!) had several excellent questions about the VPAD. Go pay her blog post a visit, and I hope she gets these questions answered soon.

EDIT (1/7/08:): Amy Cohen Efron got a great response from Viable answering her questions and more.

I know I’m a Proud Geek, and I love geeky gadgets. But this is one gadget I do NOT want. A video player on my tombstone that shows a video scrapbook of memories about me.

I’m proud of telling people that I do not want my tombstone to say, “Here lies Josh / He was a good employee.” Rather, I want it to read, “Here lies Josh / He was a wonderful father.” But I don’t want that to be said in videos! I’d stick with a simple etching / carving of these words, thank you very much.

Ok, what is this gadget?

It’s the Serenity Panel, a video scrapbook made by Vidstone LLC that is buried into, ahem, built into your tombstone. It is powered by solar, and so the solar panels have to be faced in the right direction and the beloved can’t be buried under a thick tree. Pressing some control will show a 5-8 minute video of the dearly departed. I believe it would be built solid enough to last at least 15 years. There’s even a plan that ensures / insures replacement in case of vandalism (but not theft). There’s even a VidPet Memorial Panel to go on tombstones of cherished family pets. I kid thee not.

I do not mean to poke fun at what is surely a serious product for a serious time. But I just feel that this is a bit extravagent. Even normally somber CNN had a tongue-in-cheek article about this.

If anyone buries me with one of those on my tombstone, I’ll … I’ll … I’ll come back to life and chase you around and beat you silly!

My partner and I love candles. Almost every room in our house has at least one candle, and we used to love lighting them up. We used to dim the lights and watch the flames flickering, and we especially enjoyed the different scents.

Yes, I said “we used to.” What happened? We had children. We now have young kids running around the house. And of course, with young kids running around, open flames were now dangerous. (Well, yeah, fire’s always dangerous, but you know what I mean.) We had to sharply curtail the use of candles. Either that, or we had one candle burning up high, like on top of the refrigerator or a similar safe high place. But another hazard of having kids is that I become easily forgetful — and I’m terrified that I’d forget and leave the house with a candle burning!

A couple weeks ago, my partner found the nearly-perfect solution. Flameless candles, made by Glade under the Wisp brand name. These candles flicker just like a real candle, and smell just as nice. They’re so safe that my nearly-4-year-old daughter takes one down, turns it on with a quick press on the top, and carries it around while admiring how it flickers — and then she puts it exactly in the middle of the dining table like a centerpiece. (She certainly knows how to decorate, and at such a tender young age!)

How does it work? Using two AA batteries, it releases a puff of scent every once in a while all day and all night. The scent is adjustable, although I’m not sure exactly what is being adjusted — the time interval in between puffs or the intensity of the scent being released. And when you press the top of the candle, it flickers for a set length of time, I think two or three hours unless you turn it off again with another press.

Perfect for leaving around the house, and perfect if you’re a forgetful parent like me!

There are several other types of flameless candles out there as well, including one that’s inside a real wax candle and flameless votive candles that turn on with a tap on the surface.

Hmm, I think I’m gonna buy several score of these candles and put them in the master bedroom. What, honey, you have a headache? Damn.

I admit it. I leave the lights on in the car several times a year. When I do that and then when I try to turn on the car, it gives (what I imagine is) a pitiful whimper and does not turn over. And I smack my head and say, “Not again, you (Proud) Geek!”

I’ve been making good use of my AAA membership ever since I joined at the tender young age of twenty years. So good, in fact, that I think AAA had been losing money on me!

I’ve heard of jump start kits that you could leave in the car, but I imagined them to be big, expensive, bulky generator-like batteries that’d take up half (or much more if you’ve got a Miata like my dad once had) of your trunk space.

Imagine my surprise and pleasure when my partner and I stumbled over a tiny re-chargeable jump start kit that sells for just $20!

Rally Manufacturing, Inc. sells Boost It, a line of portable jump start kits with various options. Kit # 7267, similar to what I have, comes with its own booster cables, can be re-charged by leaving it plugged into an electrical outlet for 24 hours or left plugged into your (running!) car’s cigarette outlet, can be left under the seat or in the trunk of your car for several months without needing to be re-charged, and can be used to jump-start your car, truck, or van when needed. With a press of a button, you can see how much “juice” it has left or if it needs re-charging.

In addition, it comes with two car adapter outlets - you can use it anywhere and not just in / for the car. You could go on a picnic and plug in up to two portable dvd players, recharge your smartphone, use your electric razor, plug in a fan if it’s too hot outside, plug in a boom box, etc etc. The possibilities are almost unlimited, as long as you have a car adaptor (like a cigarette lighter plug) for all these appliances.

If you pay a few more dollars, you can get Kit # 7258 or better which comes with a two- (or maybe it’s three-?) pronged 110 volt outlet (or outlets) that you can use for just about any appliance, including leaf-blowers. Hmm.

Now we have a ‘Boost It’ kit in our van, charged and ready for the next time we need it. I can hardly wait to (accidentially) leave the lights on once again so I can try out the Boost It kit!

So, am I gonna cancel my AAA membership? Fat chance. My partner’s the one who seems to always get a flat tire — he also makes good use of our AAA membership (which, thank goodness, recognizes same-sex partners). Why don’t we change the tire ourselves then? Ach, with two kids, who has the time or energy?

Tired of having to clean your gutters the hard way — moving the ladder a few feet at a time, reaching in (and hoping you don’t overbalance the ladder) and dumping gunk from your gutters? Or maybe you’re like me (gulp!) and procrascinate, and end up having gutters that overflow and leak water into your house during torrential rainstorms?

iRobot now has a robot just for your gutters — the Looj!

(I have no idea where the Looj name came from. Don’t ask me.)

The Looj works much like a badger with a soft propeller at its snout. You put it into a gutter, and you use a remote control to control it as it squrms along the gutter and uses its “propeller” (officially called a 3-stage augur) to dislodge and disintegrate leaves and dirt in your gutter. Then after you use it, you only need to hose it down to clean it, and it even clips onto your belt so that you can more easily climb up / down ladders.

You might affectionately know iRobot as the company that makes the Scooba — which cleans and vaccuums your floors and which even cooks for you if you ask nicely. (Ok, I made up the last part, but it does clean and vaccuum your floors while you’re out or sleeping.)

A video (which I can’t embed here) shows the Looj in operation. Isn’t this too cool?

The Looj comes in three models (which differ only in the range of accessories, apparently), with prices ranging from $99 to $169.99.

(Thanks, La-La, for telling me about this!)

Ultra-thin television is coming! Ultra-thin television is coming in December!

Remember last May when I blogged Sony’s announcement that it has developed a razor-thin bendable television? Well, Sony will start selling ultra-thin televisions mounted on a pedestal — much like a modern desk lamp — this December for roughly $1,740. These televisions will initially be rather small, at nearly 10 inches width by 5.6 inches height.

But ach, the coolness factor just grabs at me. Can you just imagine having one of those televisions on your desk in your cubicle, and becoming the envy of all the other Dilbert-like folks in your wretched existence? Yes, I thought so — I can imagine that too for myself. :-)

I just hope these televisions come with the closed-captions chip built in.

I’m not sure the following photo (from I4U News) is accurate, but it’s close enough to give you an idea of what’s coming.

I love gadgets. But sometimes we can have too many gadgets. Take bag clips — they can be cool, but somehow they feel … excessive. Yes, it feels a bit too much to have bag clips. But don’t we need them to keep our chips from going stale?

Turns out we don’t need bag clips. Check out this video. (Thanks, Staz!)