All Forces

Found “Four Things” via Drew and a few other blogs around the web, but since no one has tagged me yet I decided to start a new round :-)

Here are my four answers to these questions. Then I’m passing the batton.

Four jobs I’ve had in my life:

1. Web Designer / Programmer
2. Designed Movie Posters
3. Radio DJ
4. Sales Clerk

Four movies I can watch over and over:

1. The Princess Bride
2. Star Wars
3. The Pirates of The Caribbean
4. Amélie

Four places I have lived:

1. Puerto Rico
2. Miami
3. Los Angeles
4. Deciding on the next one

Four TV shows I love to watch:

1. Desperate Housewives
2. Seinfield
3. The Simpsons
4. Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Four places I have been on vacation:

1. France
2. Switzerland
3. Austria
4. Puerto Rico

Four websites I visit daily:
this was really hard to narrow down

1. Google
2. liliflower.com (lilia)
3. qualitypeoples.com (ed)
4. tuaw.com (unofficial apple weblog)

Four of my favorite foods:
this was even harder to narrow down

1. sushi
2. pad thai
3. chicken kebab
4. kung pao chicken

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. Having Bread and Café in Bordeaux while playing Dalmuti
2. Drinking a Mojito in Cuba
3. Riding and Elephant in Thailand
4. Waking up at a Safari in Africa

Four bloggers I am tagging

1. Ed (qualitypeoples)
2. Paul (onedigitallife)
3. Steve (breathfire)
4. Lilia (liliflower)

I’m not kidding, it is made of cheese!
Check out the Google Moon Map Project, a tribute to the Apollo landings.

Link: moon.google.com

Join the Organic Rebellion!
Link: storewars.org

I’m glad to see I’m not the only one using WordPress as a non blog tool. Colin Devroe has put together a great article on how they built 9Rules using WordPress. Worth the read if you are a web developer.

Link: Building the 9Rules Network: Episode 1
Link: Building the 9Rules Network: Episode 2

LapCop is a laptop anti-theft software that helps you recover your stolen laptop. When LapCop detects a new network setting it send a silent email to your specified email address. If your laptop gets stolen, authorities can use this info to track down exactly where it is. LapTop rocks, but now comes Undercover, the next generation of LapCop. In case of theft, Undercover can send screenshots of the stolen Mac, it will also simulate hardware failure and alert the new user that their Mac is a stolen one. And all that for $29.99, sign me up.

Undercover routinely checks with the Undercover server. In case of theft, the Mac’s unique Undercover ID is added to the database on the Undercover server, initiating the recovery process. During the recovery phase, Undercover transmits its current location on the internet, enabling the Undercover team to identify the computer’s exact physical location. Moreover, Undercover also sends screenshots of the stolen Mac, revealing details of the thief’s identity. The Undercover recovery center will then work with law enforcement to recover the Mac.

In case recovery fails, the software has an ingenious plan B: it will simulate a hardware failure, urging the thief to send the computer in for repair or sell it. As soon as the thief gets rid of the Mac, Undercover will warn the new user that the Mac has been stolen and that it should be returned as soon as possible. The computer will shout from time to time that it has been stolen and Undercover will take over the screen, displaying how the Mac can be returned while making the computer unusable.

Link : orbicule.com

I took the time this weekend to redesign my wife’s blog at liliflower.com. In the past my blog and hers have been mostly based on Michael Heilemann’s Kubrik, but this time I have done most of design from scratch. I really like the ability to include php functions on the new themes in WordPress 2.0. I already wrote a function that shows the number of unapproved comments on the front page if i’m logged in. I look forward to write a few more, specially that dreaded sidebar content who’s still hardcoded into the template file.

Could this be true? A device that records video directly to the iPod from any video source like my TiVO? The guys at Ato have announced iSee, a device that allows you to record from external sources straight into the iPod. Not only that, it allows you to watch videos in it’s 3.5″ screen bringing video capability to gen 4th iPods like the U2 iPod. It’s a bit high at $250 but it is the only way to record video directly as of now. It would have been great for Apple to offer built in video recording but I’m sure they would rather charge you for another add-on if they can. And we can only hope that iPod Linux adds this feature to the 5th gen iPods.

Link: atollc.com

I’ve got the skills to pay the bills! That’s right. This summer I learned to solve the cube from my friend Chad. It took me about a week to solve it on my own the first time. I’m not a speed cuber but I can finish it in about three minutes. Not bat considering it’s only been about six months although I will definitely learn to speed cube this year. As it turns out, Souther California has the highest concentration of blind fold speed cubing. Yes, I said blindfold speed cubing.

On a relating story, tomorrow night at 8pm the NBC show E-Ring, feat. Benjamin Bratt, will be featuring my hands finishing the cube. My friend Scott Reynolds is a writer for the show and tomorrow his first episode airs. One of the characters in the show will be working a cube in the pentagon and will eventually finish it at the climax of the story. My job was to progress the cube through takes and my hands will be featured at the end finishing it and slamming it down on the table. That is of course if the whole scene doesn’t get cut off from the show. So unless this happens, my hands will debut tomorrow finishing the Rucik’s Cube. George Costanza would be proud.

this is benjamin bratt. a surprisingly nice guy.

left is the scene where the cubing happens. on the right and bellow is my friend scott.

UPDATE: Here are the pics of us watching it live at home. Our friends Scott & Amy, David & Carrie and Jason joined us for the debut of Scott’s writing and my hands. ha ha!

We’re back from our last minute trip to France. We spent 9 days total, 4 in Paris and 5 in Bordeaux in the south part of France. We went to Bordeaux to visit our friend Luis to celebrate his 40th birthday. There we joined our friends from LA, Vincent and Cecilia who also went there to visit him. Cecilia is Luis’ half sister.

Read the rest of this entry »