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In: Events & Travel
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I was searching for a last minute costume to wear to Oz’s halloween party. I hate spending money on costumes and I apparently hate planning ahead. I’m searching through the closet and then a brilliant idea (perhaps based on Diggnation Episode 66??) came to me. ScubaNinja! I quickly pulled out my 0.5 mm Scuba skin, gloves, and scuba mask/snorkel. I found a ski mask in the coat closet that I acquired during my 1999 winter field testing in Bemidji, MN. I grabbed my black house shoes. I went to the basement and searched around for the replica Ninja sword I bought in 7th grade. IRead More →

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In: Entertainment
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The television show Heroes is every geeks favorite new show. Yet everyone I know seems to be afraid that, because they like it so much, it almost certainly be canceled in a Firefly-like fashion. Not so. Heroes has already been picked-up for a full season by NBC. Because this happened so early, this pretty much guarantees a second season in my opinion. Also, it’s the highest-rated new drama in the key 18-49 demo. So stop worrying. Veronica Mars, on the other hand, is still in limbo. There is still a chance it could be canceled mid-way through this season. But, given that the CW alreadyRead More →

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In: Automotive
With: 2 Comments

After a disastrous experience with Mintex Red Box brake pads I decided it was necessary to upgrade something with much higher performance capabilities. I’ve gotten several recommendations, including Hawk HPS street pads, the Hawk track-only pads, and a couple of different Padgid track pads. However, my final decision was BHP XPS pads because they are essentially track pads that also can be used on the street. I really don’t see myself swapping pads before and after every track weekend. Track pads don’t perform well cold and street pads don’t perform well when extremely hot, but apparently the BHP pads overcame this problem and give closeRead More →

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In: Events & Travel
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I hope everyone else had as much fun as I did.  Nicole really deserves the credit for putting together such a fun evening — I mostly just helped out however she needed.  I had a great time visiting with old friends and meeting some new people as well.  I was a little disappointed that I didn't get circulate and spend more time with more people, but I guess there was just too much going on.  I especially want to thank everyone who drove up from Columbus, making sure it wasn't a total "Lilly party". The last guests left around 2:00.  Nicole spent a little timeRead More →

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In: Automotive, Home Theater
With: 6 Comments

Last night, Nicole and I had several friends over and we wound up watching The Sentinel. The movie was not all that great but what I found even more distracting was the rattles in the room generated by the substantial bass of my subwoofer. I was probably the only one in the room that noticed or was disturbed by it, but so what. So today I’m identifying the offenders in the room. I know the door covering the equipment rack is rattling and there is a light fixture in the ceiling rattling as well. But both rattle at different frequencies and it’s a pain toRead More →

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In: Life Reflections
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I don't own a Mac but Steve Jobs makes me wish I did every time I see one of his keynote addresses.  Today my friend Luke sent me this link to a non-Apple speech Jobs gave at Stanford in 2005.  Although I'm somewhat skeptical of inspirational speeches give by the 0.00001% who become extremely successful (while ignoring the other 99.99999%), I couldn't help but feel inspired.Read More →

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In: Home Theater
With: 1 Comment

Last week, Sonos released software revision 2.0. This is the third time they’ve released an update in the ~1.5 years I’ve owned one. What impresses me most is that I’ve made requests in their user suggestion forum and they have implemented many of them. Customers speak and Sonos listens. Too bad more companies are not like this (I’ve been complaining to Philips about their omission of ProntoProNG button backlights for a couple of years now and no change.) One of the coolest new features is integrated Real Rhapsody Service. Previous support was barely functional – it used a networked PC running Rhapsody as an intermediary.Read More →

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In: Automotive
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For the third time this year, I visited Putnam Park for Porsche Driver Education weekend. This event was hosted by the Central Indiana Region, and thought they did a better job than the Kentucky Region and Mid-Ohio Region (but all were great). I was surprised how long it took me to get back to the performance level I obtained during my previous weekend. I feel like I was slower the entire first day this session, but reached and maybe exceeded my previous levels on the second day. I don’t have a lap timer (yet) so I’m not really sure how I was doing, but it’sRead More →

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In: Home Theater
With: 1 Comment

I no longer subscribe to any magazines that offer reviews of home theater-type equipment and I don’t generally read online review sites either. Why? Because, I’m sick of reading worthless and inaccurate information and that doesn’t help me pick a product and understand its limitations. I’m convienced the only way to get a useful opinion is through aggregation of forum posts, where multiple individuals can give multiple opinions to allow once to reach their own, overall consensus. This methodology is reinforced by the book The Wisdom of Crowds (Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few) by James Surowiecki. Paperback link, Audio book link .Read More →

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In: Concerts
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Nicole and I arrive and hear the opening act from the outside. The singer sounds like Dave Matthews with a different band, but we realize it’s Mat Kearney when he closes with his song with radio play. He finishes as we find a place on the lawn. Too bad we didn’t catch the whole thing. We meet-up with Nicole’s co-worker Erin and his wife and later run into my MBA classmate Pierre-Alexander Brault. Friends and concerts and a good pairing. Sheryl Crow takes the stage and start playing through her long and well-earned list of hits. She’s like a fine bourbon that keeps getting betterRead More →