Tretakoff Musings
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Universal Wishlist, Amazon Style
How the heck did I not hear about this? Amazon has expanded the functionality of their wishlists to any other site online. Yep, that's right: you can now add any item, from any site, to Amazon's wishlist, with one click. I was using TheThingsIWant.com for this, but Amazon integration? Count me in, folks.
How the heck did I not hear about this? Amazon has expanded the functionality of their wishlists to any other site online. Yep, that's right: you can now add any item, from any site, to Amazon's wishlist, with one click. I was using TheThingsIWant.com for this, but Amazon integration? Count me in, folks.Saturday, April 05, 2008
Sweet Team Spirit
With the Olympics looming large, there's been a lot of discussion on my daily ferry commute about the rise of China in the international stage, and, of course, the debate if the USA has already gone past it's nadir as the pre-eminent international power. In other words, has the USA already begun its decline, like the great empires before it? Many factors lead to this possibility, primarily the lack of investment in a manufacturing base: when a society becomes so wealthy that they find it less expensive to send work to another country, or to employ illegal aliens, no matter how trivial or important the work, I maintain that it is officially on the decline.
As part of this exercise, we look at key indicators that might represent the telltale signs of when the USA "jumped the shark." For the Roman empire, it might have been the gladiatorial games and vomitoriums; the British empire saw the East India Company become it's de facto ambassador to the world. What might the USA have to offer? Well, you could argue Madonna's new video, watching her re-embrace her more sexually liberated self as she gyrates alongside Justin Timberlake (does this guy love cougars, or what? Janet Jackson AND Madge?) might qualify. Or, you might take a more serious note and find that the manufactured war of Iraq might be a key indicator; it's about as obvious as Madonna.
Me, I like to look at more subtle things. Exhibit A: you can now buy M & M's with your favorite baseball team's logo on it. Not just the logo, mind you: the M & M's are your team's colors, and there are three variations of the logo imprinted in delectable M & M sugary goodness. What's the part that makes me convinced this harbinger of our international descent is here? My first thought on seeing this was "Wow, if they only had the NFL teams and Dallas Cowboys ones, $269.95 isn't a bad deal for a 10 lb. Box."
My fellow Americans, I have seen the road to ruin, and it is paved with M & M's. For those who want a smaller taste of the decline, $13 will get you a palatable 7 oz. portion. I'm off to weep at my own moral decay.
As part of this exercise, we look at key indicators that might represent the telltale signs of when the USA "jumped the shark." For the Roman empire, it might have been the gladiatorial games and vomitoriums; the British empire saw the East India Company become it's de facto ambassador to the world. What might the USA have to offer? Well, you could argue Madonna's new video, watching her re-embrace her more sexually liberated self as she gyrates alongside Justin Timberlake (does this guy love cougars, or what? Janet Jackson AND Madge?) might qualify. Or, you might take a more serious note and find that the manufactured war of Iraq might be a key indicator; it's about as obvious as Madonna.
Me, I like to look at more subtle things. Exhibit A: you can now buy M & M's with your favorite baseball team's logo on it. Not just the logo, mind you: the M & M's are your team's colors, and there are three variations of the logo imprinted in delectable M & M sugary goodness. What's the part that makes me convinced this harbinger of our international descent is here? My first thought on seeing this was "Wow, if they only had the NFL teams and Dallas Cowboys ones, $269.95 isn't a bad deal for a 10 lb. Box."
My fellow Americans, I have seen the road to ruin, and it is paved with M & M's. For those who want a smaller taste of the decline, $13 will get you a palatable 7 oz. portion. I'm off to weep at my own moral decay.
Labels: 80's, Dallas Cowboys, ferry, fun, gifts, music, Politics, silly
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Back on the air
Been a little more quite than I anticipated. First, the holidays, mixed with an office move, then followed by a trip to Tucson to visit the family. Pix are on Flickr; they should be Picnik'ed mostly later today. Bonus: my mother unearthed some classic child photos of me,and I'll be posting them to Flickr, as well.
Some random comments:
- For those who have been following my Twitters, I'm sure you've had enough of my complaints about US Air, but for those who missed them, I advise avoiding them at all costs. Even though I had significant frequent flier miles with them, I will avoid flying them, ever again, if possible. Atrocious service,substandard aircraft, and their Phoenix hub is like a third world country. We ran a bit late, got to the counter 44 minutes before the flight, and were denied boarding becuase we had luggage to check. Result? An unplanned overnight stay inthe stunning airport La Quinta,at our cost.
- Dude, I got my Dell. A sweet Inspiron desktop from the Dell Outlet. Dual core processor, huge hard drive, extra 128MB video card and more, for less than $350. Man, is this thing QUIET, and stylish. One surprise: why the complaints about Vista? After all the hype about how bad it is, I expected horror, but I have been very pleased. The Aero interface is great, and it recognized all of my peripherals upon just plugging them in, or linked me directly to the driver site for those I needed to download.
- With the Dell installed, the technology train moved down: Amy got my old P4 2.4 GHZ machine. We moved the ultrasmall HP Windows Media Center to the kitchen, turning the LCD TV into a ginormous monitor for watching movies, tv shows, playing music, etc. The networked DVD player headed to the living room, allowing us to watch the movies on the PC's on the big screen, as well as stream music to the stereo. All in all, a totally networked house.
- Some great holiday gifts, including the aformentioned USB Doomsday Hub. Red Steel for the Wii, as well as two Wiimote chargers (pictured), to keep us from investing in endless AA batteries. And some great clothes and an REI shopping spree, to boot!
Next up: a trip to Hawaii (our first) for a mix of work and pleasure.
Some random comments:
- For those who have been following my Twitters, I'm sure you've had enough of my complaints about US Air, but for those who missed them, I advise avoiding them at all costs. Even though I had significant frequent flier miles with them, I will avoid flying them, ever again, if possible. Atrocious service,substandard aircraft, and their Phoenix hub is like a third world country. We ran a bit late, got to the counter 44 minutes before the flight, and were denied boarding becuase we had luggage to check. Result? An unplanned overnight stay inthe stunning airport La Quinta,at our cost.
- Dude, I got my Dell. A sweet Inspiron desktop from the Dell Outlet. Dual core processor, huge hard drive, extra 128MB video card and more, for less than $350. Man, is this thing QUIET, and stylish. One surprise: why the complaints about Vista? After all the hype about how bad it is, I expected horror, but I have been very pleased. The Aero interface is great, and it recognized all of my peripherals upon just plugging them in, or linked me directly to the driver site for those I needed to download.
- With the Dell installed, the technology train moved down: Amy got my old P4 2.4 GHZ machine. We moved the ultrasmall HP Windows Media Center to the kitchen, turning the LCD TV into a ginormous monitor for watching movies, tv shows, playing music, etc. The networked DVD player headed to the living room, allowing us to watch the movies on the PC's on the big screen, as well as stream music to the stereo. All in all, a totally networked house.
- Some great holiday gifts, including the aformentioned USB Doomsday Hub. Red Steel for the Wii, as well as two Wiimote chargers (pictured), to keep us from investing in endless AA batteries. And some great clothes and an REI shopping spree, to boot!Next up: a trip to Hawaii (our first) for a mix of work and pleasure.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
'Tis the Season...
Yup, it is. And, although it sounds arrogant, wishlists have made life a LOT easier. Amazon is still the gold standard, but even they don't have everything. I looked for a universal wishlist that would give me the simplicity of the Amazon one, but alas, it was not to be found. Coming close is TheThingsIWant.com: it offers a universal wishlist that brings you to the etailer's page to complete the transaction, then mark the item as purchased in a companion browser window. While not automatic, it's pretty close!
So, here's a list of where to find suggestions (as you don't want to be asking me):
And Thanks.
Yup, it is. And, although it sounds arrogant, wishlists have made life a LOT easier. Amazon is still the gold standard, but even they don't have everything. I looked for a universal wishlist that would give me the simplicity of the Amazon one, but alas, it was not to be found. Coming close is TheThingsIWant.com: it offers a universal wishlist that brings you to the etailer's page to complete the transaction, then mark the item as purchased in a companion browser window. While not automatic, it's pretty close!So, here's a list of where to find suggestions (as you don't want to be asking me):
- Josh's Universal Wishlist (I'm listing things not on my Amazon list here for this year; let's see if it works out, and if it does, I'll move my Amazon list there.)
- Amy's Universal Wishlist
- Josh's Amazon Wishlist
- Amy's Amazon Wishlist
- Amy's Cooking.com Wishlist (Yeah!)
- Our Shop.com Wishlist
And Thanks.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Robocop: On My Wish List
Two notes:
- I have succumbed to Twitter. I'll try it for a while, and see what it yields. My Twitter status is on the right.
- I found my best Xmas gift, thanks to Cameron. Now, I really can be Robocop, thanks to the U.S. military!
Two notes:- I have succumbed to Twitter. I'll try it for a while, and see what it yields. My Twitter status is on the right.
- I found my best Xmas gift, thanks to Cameron. Now, I really can be Robocop, thanks to the U.S. military!
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Wireless Power...finally here!
A gadget lover's dream: no more cradles or wires. Just drop your phone, Palm, iPod, etc. on this special plate, and it recharges wirelessly. Finally. Y'know, my Sonicare toothbrush has had this for years: just get near the cradle, and it starts charging. I'm amazed it took so long for this to come out.
However, call me convinced: another good purchase for next holiday!
A gadget lover's dream: no more cradles or wires. Just drop your phone, Palm, iPod, etc. on this special plate, and it recharges wirelessly. Finally. Y'know, my Sonicare toothbrush has had this for years: just get near the cradle, and it starts charging. I'm amazed it took so long for this to come out.However, call me convinced: another good purchase for next holiday!
Labels: cell phones, gadgets, gifts
Friday, December 08, 2006
Josh is SO hard to buy for...not anymore!
Ok, I've heard it a million times: "you're so hard to buy for; what do you want for {fill in the blank}?" I tried to help; I created wishlists, hints, blog posts. Still I get the question. Clearly, it's time to harness the power of the Web to help solve this astounding problem:
What I really want is a GPS unit that works with my Palm. Luckily, there are some available. However, I'm not crass enough to suggest someone should drop a couple of Benjamins on it for me. I am crass enough, however, to suggest that friends, coworkers, and anonymous contributors pool their good intentions towards that goal, and this service from ChipIn makes it possible. You contribute the funds, the progress gets updated on the blog, and when the goal is hit, voila! Disbursement, and I'm a few clicks away from that beloved gadget.
Beyond just the appreciation, this service is really cool. I opted to let them collect the funds, rather than PayPal, but they support that service, as well. And the widget creation is SO Web 2.0.
I've modified the blog to show the widget on the right, so we can all see the progress. Now, let's get that thermometer moving! :-)
Thanks in advance for putting up with my bluntness.
What I really want is a GPS unit that works with my Palm. Luckily, there are some available. However, I'm not crass enough to suggest someone should drop a couple of Benjamins on it for me. I am crass enough, however, to suggest that friends, coworkers, and anonymous contributors pool their good intentions towards that goal, and this service from ChipIn makes it possible. You contribute the funds, the progress gets updated on the blog, and when the goal is hit, voila! Disbursement, and I'm a few clicks away from that beloved gadget.
Beyond just the appreciation, this service is really cool. I opted to let them collect the funds, rather than PayPal, but they support that service, as well. And the widget creation is SO Web 2.0.
I've modified the blog to show the widget on the right, so we can all see the progress. Now, let's get that thermometer moving! :-)
Thanks in advance for putting up with my bluntness.
