De La Soul Dunks
Remember those guys singing about Me, Myself, and I? De La Soul inspired their own Nike Dunk design. In a lemony fresh low top and a way-out-there high top. I’ll pass on both but would go with the low top.
Technorati Tags: Kicks
Windward Mall is a Death Trap
A few reasons that Windward Mall is a (financial) death trap.
- About half of the spaces are unoccupied (okay, only 15% unoccupied according to the Star Bulletin in 2004)
- Several stores are seasonal and shutdown after the Holidays
- Two to three 99-cent stores are open for business
- Too many Hawaiiana or craft stores
- People still think JC Penneys is still there
- Jan Ken Po Trivia show, hosted by Lanai and Augie, changes location to Kapiolani Park
- McDonalds willingly closes down (other notable closures – The Gap, Marie Calendar’s Restaurant and Bakery)
Let’s see if the new Farrells or Camille Velasco’s IHOP can revive business at the Mall.
Darknets?
What’s a darknet? According to CIO.com:
These private, invitation-only networks can be invisible to even state-of-the-art sleuthing… group of individuals who have a covert, dispersed communication channel… creating a private connection that’s unlikely to be detected.
Learned my Internet lesson for the day.
My Cell Phone Sucks!
I’ve had my Motorola MPx200 for about a year, and it sucks! The thing runs the Windows Smartphone OS which is mistake #1. It takes forever to power on and be ready to use. When navigating menus, there’s a delay. Reception’s been bad even with the switch from AT&T to Cingular. And it doesn’t sync with my Mac without 3rd party software.
Yesterday, the phone was frozen. It wasn’t responding to anything, and I couldn’t even turn it off. I had to remove the battery to reset it. The final straw.
I’m on the hunt for a new phone (still with Cingular though). Besides the usual wants like cheap, long battery life, and light weight, here are some of the features I like:
- Flip/clamshell design – smaller than the “candy bar” shape
- External display – to see the time and caller ID info-useful when wanting to ignore calls 😉
- USB capable – to sync contacts with my Mac using iSync
- Easy to use interface – I’ve always thought the Nokia phones were easy to use. Motorola’s interface took a while to get used to
- Speakerphone (optional) – could come in handy with Merynn to tend to
- Camera (optional) – not a fan of the crummy pictures but it’s harder to find a phone without a camera
- Music/FM player (optional) – probably won’t be used with my iPod around
- Internet capable (optional) – does come in handy when it’s the only Net access around
Cingular offers these phones that come close:
- Samsung X497
- LG C2000 – Amazon review 4 stars, but the external display is a waste of time
- Samsung P207
- Nokia 6102 – Amazon review 4.5 stars
- Motorola v551
- Motorola RAZR V3 – too expensive
- Samsung D307 – ugly!
- Motorola MPx220 – you kidding me after my MPx200 experience?
The Nokia 6102 sounds like a good one. Any recommendations?
Apple is the best, Wait on Windows Vista, and Macs on Intel
In his latest report, Walter Mossberg states that “Apple makes the best computers, and the best operating system, for mainstream consumers.”
On the same day, the Gartner Group recommends that companies hold off on the next version of Windows, Vista, until 2008!!
And lastly, ZDNet UK gets a copy of Mac OS X for the Intel platform and reviews its performance on a Toshiba laptop. Sounds promising if true.
Hawaii Criminal Records Available On-line
The Hawaii Criminal Justice Department has made its records available on-line via their Adult Criminal Conviction Information site, or eCrim, and CourtConnect. You need to register for an eCrim account that costs $1 while the CourtConnect site is completely free. Printing eCrim records costs $13.
Do I want to pay $1 to look up people I know? Nah, but free, I’ll take that.
Wait, that’s not me. Wayne’s World, is that your “noncompliance-speed limit” violation?
A Shot Out to T
No, not Mr. T, but to Pulpconnection reader “T” who’s been my ace in the hole in working with systems. Through his help, I’ve been able to (rightfully) shut up a few folks around here and make sense out of the chaos.
-What?! 80 accounts are ready for use already? That’s not possible!
-Hell yeah, baby! It’s done.
Such a feeling of confidence knowing T’s got my back. Though I can’t abuse this… 😉
Thanks!
Gee Why
Freedom to Be Me
On the morning news, saw a clip about a Samsung commercial starring South Korean pop star, Lee Hyo-lee, and North Korean star, Cho Myong-ae. The cultural differences between the “peers” is a pretty interesting comparison.
In real life interviews, the North Korean Cho can’t understand why the South Korean Lee would want to color her hair and wear non-traditional clothes. In response, Lee simply says that she has the freedom to make these decisions.
Ah, the freedom to be yourself. So what if I wear Nike Dunk Vapors and a green Mountain Dew shirt. I got the freedom to be me!
The Start of Something?
Lets see. WordPress to maintain and present a log of significant events. Uses MySQL, Apache, and PHP. Categories to tag info. RSS feeds to distribute info. Use the Tabasco Man’s software to track requests for information. Also uses MySQL and PHP. Use these install instructions to install and configure Apache, PHP, JSP, and MySQL on WinXP/2000 (we got plenty of these lying around). Figure out CSS templates to style everything so sites look the same.
Hmmm, sounds like the start of something…
Girl Scout Cookies Anyone?
Anyone want to place an order for Girl Scout cookies? Two new Girl Scouts (my nieces) are selling:
- Samoas – Vanilla cookies covered with caramel, coconut, and striped with chocolate
- Thin Mints – Thin wafer covered with chocolate
- Do-si-dos – Oatmeal cookie with peanut butter filling
- All Abouts – Shortbread cookie with fudge coating on the bottom
- Trefoils – Shortbread
- Tagalongs – Cookie topped with creamy peanut butter and covered with chocolate
- Lemon Coolers – Vanilla cookie with lemon flavoring covered with powdered sugar
- Cafe Cookies – Carmelized with brown sugar with a hint of cinnamon
Cost is $4 per box. Sorry, no volume discount. Cookies will be available the week of January 12, 2006. Comment or email me with orders if interested.
Me, I like the Thin Mints and Tagalongs. Yummy!
Useful Stuff for Bloggers
Found some useful tips and how to articles for bloggers.
HOW TO: Make a Blog Header Graphic
How do I back up my blog?
Haven’t done either of the two… yet.
Pictures from Roman Fort on Tyne Expedition
Kim sent a few pictures from her recent Earthwatch Roman Fort on Tyne expedition in the UK.
The idle rich
“Hey, you think there’s a Starbucks in there?”
“Hey, this looks like a good place for stratigraphic excavation“
“See, I told you Romans served cake.”
“Afternnon tea?! It’s bloody hot out here! When I told you to go sample, clean, and process, I meant get me an icy Frappuccino, you Yankee twit!”
Oh, sorry, the captions are mine. 🙂