From BoingBoing yesterday I saw that the new version of the Ipodlounge’s Buyers Guide came out. I’ll give you some of the highlights here, or you can check it out at the link below.

So there were a bunch of “outlandish” things that I’m not going to bother covering because I question the practicality of the products. One thing that plays videos back from your Ipod, or the satellite radio receiver that records the audio to your ipod. Or even some of the designer cases.

There were a few products from ISkin that caught my eye. I’m currently using one of their evo2 cases, but they have some cool stuff coming out. I really liked their Wild Sides Evo2. I think they look much sharper than the plain colored ones. But the coolest part is the Click Wheel Cover that they come with. While I probably won’t pick up a Wild Sides case, I will pick up a set of click wheel covers when they are separately available. That is the only part of my Ipod that isn’t protected.

I was also checking out some of the portable speakers they have. Between the Pacific Rim Technologies Cube Travel Speakers and the Macally PodWave (Amazon), I liked the former a little bit better. They fold up into a nicely protected cube shape for travel, and yet unfold to give you speakers wherever you go!

One item that didn’t make this years review are the plans for a cardboard ipod stand. Just print out the pattern and cut it out and you have your very own dock! (thanks as usual to BoingBoing)

Link

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Forgot to send this out last week….

Kevin showed me how you can Google the Closed Caption feed from certain TV shows:

http://video.google.com/

And some interesting search terms:

napier
alias

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I did something stereotypically computer geeky this week. I met up with two of my friends from college for dinner. All in all, not that unusual for anyone. What made this propagate a stereotype is the choice of venue. We went to an excellent sushi place in Northern Virginia. According to A Portrait of J. Random Hacker, this is not that unusual. It seems that for most computer hackers, sushi is a very acceptable meal choice.

To quote the above link, “Hackers prefer the exotic”. This must be why people in my office like to go out to various places like: Thai. Indian. Pho. Ethiopian. etc.

I wish I could explain why this is. What is it in the personality of computer hackers that drives them to try new and unusual foods? It has to be the same thing that pushes me to eat like a native when I’m traveling abroad. Or why I like to try regional specialties when traveling domestically. And probably also why I’m a sucker for whatever you have on special…

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I’ve spent some time trying to perfect my waffles. Margaret and I both love them, so I’ve been trying to figure out how to make the best ones I could. So I came up with this list of 2.5 things to consider in the creation of the perfect waffle.

1. Batter.

I use Bellegem Waffle Mix from Williams-Sonoma. Scott Levine introduced us to this mix. The problem with it is that it is a little on the expensive side for the amount of waffles it makes, and at least for us Williams-Sonoma isn’t that close by. In a cost cutting and convenience effort, I did some experimentation. I tried different mixes that I got at the grocery store. Passable, but not as good. I tried making it from scratch from 3 different recipes. A lot of work, and not as good. So we stick with the best.

2. Waffle Iron.

I got a Villaware Waffle iron from Williams-Sonoma for Christmas (thanks again Alice and Jacob!) and it helps me in making perfect waffles. They have a few models that do different shapes, but I went with the classic round ones. The iron is non-stick (like most waffles irons are) and gives a good even heat. But the best part is WaffleTone. I dial up a setting on the front of the iron, and it plays a tone when my waffles are done. With my old waffle iron, I would forget to start a timer and then just have to guess if my waffles were done or not (and usually guess wrong!). WaffleTone fixes that problem for good.

As an aside, WaffleTone is hooked into the thermostat on the iron so it can detect when you’ve put more batter on the iron. Because when you put cold batter onto the hot iron, it cools off the iron and the thermostat will kick in to heat the surface up again. Once it knows when you’ve put more batter on, how long until the waffles is done is just a simple matter of keeping time.

2.5 Syrup.

Not everyone likes it, but I do. A few months ago my grandmother asked me if I understood why my grandfather always heated up the syrup before putting it on his waffles. I replied that I had no idea. But I figured it out a few months later after I got my new waffle iron. Cold Syrup on Hot Waffles. It just doesn’t work.

There is another element to good syrup besides temperature. Quantity. Don’t put too much on. That is a classic rookie mistake, especially with a good waffle batter. Too much syrup masks the batter flavor and if you have a good batter, that’s some major flavor you are missing out on.

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Looks like somebody mirrored the google dock app (that I mentioned yesterday) before it got pulled yesterday. You can check it out here: Google Dock Mirror.

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This link comes from Kevin at work.

http://labs.google.com/googlex/

Google, looking like it was designed by Apple…

UPDATE: 6:01 - Looks like google has pulled it. It was basically a google screen that looked like the Mac “Dock” application for choosing which google feature you wanted to search. It looked cool, too bad they pulled it…

UPDATE2: Looks like I still had a copy of it open in Firefox, so I took a screen grab.

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So Hillcrest (my company) had a little blurb in “Broadband Week”. Unfortunately, it is only available to subscribers. We had a copy of the full text passed around the office, so drop me a line if you want a copy.

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I Am Not a Computer Programmer. I may introduce myself as one as a matter of convenience for all parties involved, but I abhor the term when applied to myself. In my view, a Computer Programmer is someone who has gone to a technical trade school (like ITT) and has taken courses in programming (typically a two year program).

One could use the term Software Engineer. That term is usually reserved for Software people who have a good understanding of Hardware (remember, hardware is the part of the computer you can kick!). The problem being that you usually (with the exception of software), need to pass some kind of exam to call yourself an engineer, which I haven’t. And I can’t, since there is no organization to setup the exam.

My personal preference is the term Software Developer. There is much more to my skill set than just cranking out programs. Something that you can’t get in a two year trade school program. I have the skills to design how the parts of a program go together to achieve the final goal of the program. I have the theoretical background to discuss algorithmic complexity and the speed vs. Memory tradeoffs of choosing one approach versus another. I have studied the inner workings of a computer down to the level of how the logic gates go together in the processor (though it does get a little fuzzy for me there…). All these skills (and many others that didn’t make this short list) add up to make me more than just a computer programmer.

I Am a Software Developer, hear me roar!

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So I got one submission for an answer to my Modern Word Problem from my brother Steve. I’ll excerpt part of it here:

I guess the problem is how to effectively use that $100. Knowing that you are going to perpetually get 1/6 BOGO and thus have to spend $1 more dollar you can find your initial buy-in.

x + (1/6)x + (1/6)^2x + …. + (1/6)^nx = 100 [but of course you want that last term to be a whole number]

He talked through a bit more of the math and different ways that you may solve that equation. His final answer: 38 free songs.

My solution is less thorough but yields similar results. 1/6 of your original 100 gives you 16 more bottles. 1/6 of that gives you 2. You can keep going but you aren’t going to get any more whole bottles. So your total number of bottles is 118 bottles. 1/3 of those would be winners which leaves you with 39.

There is a whole bunch of things that I am ignoring here and I think Steve’s answer is much better. If I were asking this as an interview question (which I have considered doing), I would have accepted either answer.

Steve got the extra credit as well. You have no chance whatsoever of winning an iPod mini. Sorry.

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Yummy looking recipe for Beer Battered Asparagus.

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