07.25.01

Arriving at the AirPort

Posted in General at 10 am

After Amy got a new desk and we got a new bookshelf, I splurged and got an Apple AirPort Base Station. I’ve got it all hooked up pretty well and now I don’t have to use my G3 as the full time router. The strangest thing right now is that I’m not using the Wireless capabilities at all, I’m simply using it as a router with a modem. Later on we can use it as a router with an ethernet jack for DSL or cable modem.

The whole wireless aspect is a bit moot right now, as Amy is the only one with a laptop and it rarely moves from her desk as it is. The Airport card for her Powerbook is $99 and I can get a Wireless PC Card/PCI Adapter for the G3. Then all the blue CAT-5 cables lying around can be rolled up and stored away and the router can be tucked away in a corner.

I’ve noted a real theme in my purchases recently: Wireless router, Wireless VidCam, and a pair of Wireless 2-way Radio communicators. However, it should be noted that the 2-ways were on sale at GI Joes for $30, and came with a $20 rebate… How could I pass that up?

Oh and Amy mentioned that she wants a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse. I think I know just the one to get. Maybe we’ll have to get two.

07.22.01

FPO is Down for a while

Posted in General at 10 am

Until I make alternate arrangements, For Placement Only will be offline for a while.

Great Article on Home Network Connections

Posted in General at 10 am

TidBITS just ran this great article on things to do when you have a personal dedicated net connection for your home. The second article at the bottom of the page goes into great detail regarding backup plans that are geared toward personal connections that need to have backup plans. Great stuff.

Oh, and HomeGrocer might return…

WebCam

Posted in Tech at 1 am

Bought more batteries. WebCam is back for a bit, but I still need to figure a few things out before it’s full time.

Number one is getting a way to have a nine volt battery be replaced with an AC adapter that I can plug into the wall. Any suggestions? Let me know.

(Update: Found a pretty good AC-for-9-volt-battery replacement at Radio Shack, of course.)

07.20.01

Incredibly Frightening Thought

Posted in General at 10 am

Here’s something to scare you. This seriously freaks me out just thinking about it… Imagine a headline that reads: “Microsoft buys Verisign/Network Solutions”

FPO is Down

Posted in General at 7 am

My main personal Web site, For Placement Only, is down.

Gone? Maybe.

Though really, I deserve it. The account was bound to disappear sometime. It was given to me by a friend a few years ago, but it was sold and traded to a few different hands since then. Now the machne that it was on is gone, or at least, not responding to pings and traceroutes don’t even get into the organiation’s LAN.

So it takes down the Wiki, and my Web Tools sections and my Web Dev articles and such. I only upload things that I’ve worked on locally, so I can reconstruct the site, but it’s a pain in the ass, to be sure.

I might have to break down and actually buy some space on a server.

Damn, and just when I had so many cool things coming online…

Pager Notes Collection #1

Posted in General at 7 am

Other things for my pager to be able to do: get URL, send Lynx rendering. (p) Motion is dissonance. (p) My hypocrisy amazes me. (p)I’m having a drink with the guy I replaced. We’ll see how it goes. […] It actually went pretty well. I’m pleased, and it was a good thing. (p) http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~moose/sigs.html

Mmmmm… Blueberries…

07.19.01

Flying My Time Machine

Posted in General, People, Tech, Web at 12 pm

I feel like I’m hurtling through this week without a single point to stop and catch my breath. I’m helping out with WebVisions, going to developers’ group meetings, and playing with a new toy.

Ah yes the new toy. It’s a Wireless Cam. Imagine your ordinary Lo-rez web cam, except with a wireless transmitter. It’s powered by a 9 volt battery, so you can put it anywhere you want and get a web cam set up.

The cam is available online for $80 (it’s a ‘C Video Camera’ from TrendMasters. (I would link to their site, but it sucks.)) However, the Software Etc. over at Clackamas Town Center has them for $30. Like I said, they’re low rez, but for a toy to play with, it’s very cool.

Good thing Bob loaned me an old ATI video card that has an RCA Video In that can bring in the signal. Thanks Bob!

Yes I will try to set up a WebCam, but the modem connection is only good for intermittent access, not a dedicated video feed.

Updated Nov 2007 to fix links in first paragraph.

07.15.01

Stable Wiki

Posted in General at 7 pm

I’ve uploaded and configured a new set of Wiki software to use as the discussion board for Dwelling. This should be the last revision. The new system doens’t use a central database, it actually uses a bunch of pseudo-pages in a directory. It’s pretty slick and as robust as a file system, which is a good thing. As well, it uses a template based display system, so I can make modifications to the layout of *all* of the pages without having to encode each page in perl.

I think “Read and write comments” doesn’t really work all that well as a link name. I think I’ll change it to simply “Discussion Board”.

eHomeLife Stores

Posted in General at 10 am

First, you should know that Amy and I found a great store the other weekend, which had a desk that we both liked, but that Amy felt was more my style. The store is Home Life, which turns out to be a spin off from Sears, whoduthunk? So we decide to think about the desk before getting it.

Then I read this article at the Business Journal: HomeLife Furniture closes doors. They shut down immediately! We can’t get the desk, though the site says they might liquidate the inventory of each store.

A little more research finds this article: What It’s Like to Work at . . . HomeLife Furniture. Turns out that they were a Win2k shop thru and thru…

Now I’m not one to jump to conclusions, but…