Some pictures I have not shared Thanks to the trusty phonecam, I've had them, but have not posted them:

Actual grapes on the vine in a Sonoma vineyard:

  ¶ 9:56 PM (0) comments links to this post

  No picture ever said so much... Yeah, this is how I feel, since the election. I'm ready to secede!


  ¶ 9:54 PM (0) comments links to this post

  Yahoo is dead...long live Gmail! A long time ago, I signed up for Yahoo's dial-up service for an ISP. I remember thinking that, for $9.95 a month, I got a big Yahoo mailbox to hold all my spam, but the trade off was that my joshtretakoff ID was tied to it: if I ever cancelled, poof! No more Yahoo ID.

Why a big deal? Here's a secret: I hate web mail. My typing skills are so bad, I rely on Outlook to correct everything. So, I needed my webmail to come to my Outlook. With Yahoo, you can only do that if you have a premium service. Yes, the tretakoff.com account works fine, but I try to avoid the spam going there. So, for subscriptions, purchases, etc., it's to the Yahoo account they go.

Until Gmail.

Gmail is Google's invitation only webmail. HUGE storage. Easy interface. And, as of last week, POP (Outlook) access! Did I mention it's FREE?? You don't have to be brilliant to see what happens next: I created a new Yahoo ID (jtretakoff; technically, re-created from my Sharper Image days), and transitioned over. I called Yahoo, cancelled my service, and...

Nothing.
Nada.
ZIP.

I still have full access to my joshtretakoff info. Same everything. In other words, Yahoo scared the hell out of me for over a year from cancelling, and they LIED. I feel so...sob...used. ;-)

So, jtretakoff does have one good feature: the new My Yahoo has full RSS support, so I can truly get all my info in one place!

By the way, why did I drop the ISP? I travel so much now, I just pick up WiFi in whatever city I'm in. That's the new world we live in...and I love it! If I need dial up, I just get it from my cell, through my Palm, via GPRS. That's a mouthful!

So that's the Yahoo migration story!
  ¶ 8:58 PM (0) comments links to this post

  So, what's cool? Well, in case nothing on the Amazon list looks interesting, I'm in love with a few new programs that can always make a great gift!

• Konfabulator: it came from the Mac, and Apple was too greedy to pay the amazing creators for it, so they are stealing it in the next OS release. What does this talented developer do? He releases for PC in about 1 month. And man, it's great. It will make you remember why you loved computers, once.
• WindowBlinds, which completely skins your PC. It makes it feel like a completely new computer. And makes a great gift! ;-)

On the subject of my normal piracy of the high seas, I love the joy of Podcasting. Think of it like digital audio delivery. Why do I like it so much? Well, specifically, there are feeds of Air America's programs on it: I can listen to Al Franken's show, sans commercials, followed by The Majority Report (Janeane Garafolo et al). This is liberal political heaven! And the new shows are delivered, automatically, to my iPod as they are available!
  ¶ 8:45 PM (0) comments links to this post

  First, the basics About this time of year, I hear the same thing: "you are SO hard to buy for!" So, without further ado, I humbly point you to Amazon's Wish list. Don't worry, I'll keep updating it as my desires change, so we can get through the holidays together. :-) You'll see all of the goodies I ever want. And, of course, if nothing suits your fancy there, Zino Mouton Cadet #3's are always a sure bet for undying gratitude.
  ¶ 8:31 PM (0) comments links to this post

  Looks like the ferry worked! Only took me about a week to find out. Yes, I actually can now blog from the ferry. This is either a very good thing, or a REALLY bad thing. It will let me try to keep the blog up to date, but my Graffiti skills seem to be degrading, so my typing will be..ahem...amusing. Ok, I'll be making a few posts today, to update folks. Hang on!!!
  ¶ 8:26 PM (0) comments links to this post

 
Blogging on the ferry?
With so little time, can I actually blog on the ferry? This test will answer that!
  ¶ 7:33 PM (0) comments links to this post

  Yes, I am alive Though it's hard to tell from my postings lately. I survived the Red Sox winning the World Series, George Bush winning the election, and our winning of several major clients. Whew!To celebrate, I'll be increasing frequency here. Look for my feelings on the election momentarily.

  ¶ 5:35 PM (0) comments links to this post