To Do List: Fly October 29, 2007
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Yes, fly. I have a serious fear of heights, perhaps because I’ve spent my entire life in Florida at or near sea level. I think flying an ultralight would be a pretty cool experience, and you can do it without any sort of license. It’s also relatively inexpensive. I am thinking specifically of a powered parachute, because that seems like the option I’m least likely to die in. 
I mean come on, it’s a parachute. What could go wrong?
Sometime before Winter sets in, I want to try and get up to Sebastian go for an “Introductory Flight” with an instructor up there. It’s only $55 for a 30 minute flight in a powered parachute, which is probably cheaper than a lot of things I could be doing on a Saturday, especially if you’ve seen any of the projects I’ve been working on.
My To Do List October 29, 2007
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There have been a lot of things catching my interest lately, and I’m having trouble keeping up with all of it.
I’ve decided to use this blog to keep notes on everything I (think I) want to do.
Logitech QuickCam Messenger in Windows Vista October 13, 2007
Posted by dgrundel in Windows.add a comment
So I picked up the Logitech Buddy Cam 2-pack at Geeks.com a few weeks ago for $18. Not bad, eh? Well, they work great…except on the PC I need them to work on, which runs Windows Vista.
Luckily I found this awesome little page with instructions that worked perfectly for me.
The situation is this: the XP driver for (most models of) the camera works under Vista, but the bundled logitech QuickCam 8.x software does not. The solution, you ask?
- Download the 8.x software package, and extract the driver from it (without installing the software).
- Plug your camera in, point Vista to the driver you extracted, and your hardware is installed.
- The final step is to go to the driver page for one of the newer model cameras and download the QuickCam 10.x or 11.x software (which does work with Vista) and install that. It’ll pick your camera right up and use it.
The Mighty Zune October 13, 2007
Posted by dgrundel in Nonsense and Random Crap.add a comment
Well, I finally got my sweet-ass Zune and it’s…well…frickin’ sweet. When I have something original to say, I’ll post more.
By the way, this thing has been out for how long now? WTF?! Where are all the crazy hacks for this thing? Goddammit they should have these things making toast by now.
Turn off Search Indexing in Vista! October 13, 2007
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Do it. Now. Your only excuse to continue reading without shutting it off is that you don’t know how to. Since you’re still reading, I’ll assume you don’t know how to turn off Search Indexing. Well, according to this handy article, the steps are as follows:
To disable constant indexing:
- Click Start then Computer
- Right Click the C: Drive or any other drive that you wish to prevent indexing of
- On General Tab, Uncheck Index this drive for faster searching
- On the subsequent dialog box, Select Include subfolders and files.
Ranting after the more link…
For Sale: 30GB 5th Gen iPod (iPod Video) October 5, 2007
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Update: This sold in the first night on eBay!
I got a sweet deal on a Zune today, and I couldn’t pass it up, especially with the news that Microsoft will be putting out a software upgrade to add all of the Zune 2 features to the original Zune. It’s a little bit clunkier (there’s no way that’s a word) than the iPod, but the bigger screen, wi-fi, and FM tuner make it worth it.
If you’re interested, you can bid on/buy it now on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120169090055
Click the more link for some pics.
Unsolicited Remote Assistance October 4, 2007
Posted by dgrundel in Programming and Scripting.17 comments
A few months ago, a gentleman I worked with sent me a link to an interesting article on Lewis Roberts’ blog about offering remote assistance. The article shows Lewis’ method for tweaking a couple files on the client PC that will allow an administrator to connect and control the PC without the user granting permission to do so. Lewis also gave a general outline for a script that could be written to perform the modifications to the client, as well as launch the Remote Assistance (RA) tool on the local PC so that a RA session could be initiated.
I took the ideas Lewis layed out, threw in a few of my own, and came up with a pretty sweet solution. In addition to a script, I created my own custom helpeeaccept.htm, TakeControlMsgs.htm and UnSolicitedRCUI.htm files. Detailed explanation and code are on the next page.
Free Wii Remote Jackets from Nintendo October 3, 2007
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Nintendo is offering up some very unattractive jackets to help keep you butterfingered types out there from chucking your remotes through the TV. At least they’re free, I suppose. You’ll need your serial number to request them, and you can get up to four of them at Wii.com
30 Year Batteries October 3, 2007
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This is pretty amazing: a US Air Force project has developed a battery that will last for 30 years without ever needing a recharge. Check it out on Gizmodo.
This has such amazing potential, and according to the article, they should be available in just a couple years. Think of how many devices you’d never need to recharge and in turn how much power wouldn’t be consumed. I bet Al Gore is crapping his pants right now. Not only that, but I bet we’re going to see cordless everything. LCD monitors, lamps, and other small appliances that have always been wall-plugged can now run off these 30 year batteries. Hospitals can run all of their electronics on battery and stay operational during disasters. Can you imagine if they could get one of these things to power the Tesla Roadster!?
Hello, world! October 3, 2007
Posted by dgrundel in Nonsense and Random Crap.add a comment
Well, I never thought I’d do this, but here it is: a blog, written by me. I’m not even sure what the hell I’m going to put in here, but I’m sure I can find something. Far be it from me to miss an opportunity to let the world hear my opinions (read: bitching).
