Random stuff going on

It's been a little while since I really posted anything on here.  There hasn't been a whole lot noteworthy going on. I've been working on some school stuff (including putting together a book chapter) that's kept me pretty busy. Anyhoo... This past Saturday we went to visit the Ropers at Fort Rucker.  We were just planning on doing a day trip, but ended up decided to go ahead and stay the night. It was a lot of fun catching up with them and hanging out, but I was a bad blogger and didn't take a single picture!  I actually had my nice camera packed and ready to go, but forgot to grab it on the way out.  Oh well, no pictures this post! Sometime on Saturday night I ate something that really didn't agree with me.  Sunday I was pretty much in bed all day with nausea and even today I am not feeling 100%.  I never threw up (though I might have felt better if I did), but it has just been kinda weird how it has been.  I'm not very hungry, but eating doesn't really seem to make it worse or better.  Activity has been the only thing that consistently makes it worse.  Who knows.  I just hope it clears up soon! Well, I just figured I would post a little something because it had been a while. Hopefully it will pick up soon and I'll have some more interesting blog fodder.

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Ah... Dragon Warrior 2

I love that we have progressed enough technologically that I can burn time by playing old school NES games on my phone. Who knows how many hours I spent on this game in my younger days. I may have to invest in a control pad adapter that my buddy Keith found for the droid if I can find a good ROM of Tecmo Super Bowl. :-)


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Book Review - The Survivor's Club by Ben Sherwood

This was a recommendation from mom and dad (i.e. not on our reading list).  Not a novel, but more of an exploration of real-life traumatic scenarios and the people that survived them. It was a really cool book, though I do give fair warning to anyone easily worried.  There are lots of descriptions of horrible scenarios, but luckily it usually points out why you shouldn't worry too much about it (though it still tells you how to be better prepared).  Case in point: It talks about several plane crashes, what happened to the people who did and did not survive, and plane crash safety training describing the things that cause someone to be more or less likely to survive a plane crash. Then he goe s on to tell you that, across all plan crashes, 95.7% of people survive, and overall your chance of dying in a plane crash is 1 in 60,000,000 (as opposed to the chance of dying in a car crash, 1 in 9,000,000). It is definitely not a depressing book (though there are plenty of traumatic and sad stories), but it focuses on those qualities that helped people overcome and survive scenarios that could very easily have killed them.  Not only is it very interesting to read all the stories, but it is cool to have a resource for things to do to help in emergency situations (as well as avoid the emergency situations in the first place). It also lists a lot of resources that are available to learn even more about various risks and ways to prevent/prepare for them. An additional feature is the associated website, http://www.survivorprofiler.org/ Here, anyone can go and take an online quiz that then gives you your survivor profile. There is a bunch of info in the book about putting together the quiz, but I'll leave that up to you reading :-). The last chapter of the book actually goes through a lot of the information you get in your survivor profile, which adds a cool component to the overall experience of the book.  I would definitely recommend this as a very interesting (and potentially useful) read.  And to finish, here's my survivor profile:

Your Survivor Type: THINKER

Your Survivor IQ tells you precisely which kind you are. After analyzing your answers, it's clear that you're a Thinker. You use your mind to overcome your obstacles. Your intelligence has many dimensions. You rely on a combination of smarts, creativity and ingenuity to solve problems. Book learning isn't your only resource. You've also got street smarts and common sense. You see your challenges clearly and are good at diagnosing the underlying nature of a problem. In tough times, you look at all the angles, generate new ideas and discover unexpected solutions. You don't get distracted easily. You're highly focused, analytical, and rigorous and you concentrate on what needs to get done. Your mind is practical, not up in the clouds. You're good at turning ideas into action. When others get stuck, you can improvise and find a way out. Logic and reason help you understand the real facts of your situation and the consequences of your choi ces. Common sense helps you apply your knowledge and experience in creative and productive ways. While some people depend on muscle and brawn to win life's battles, you rely on your mind. Above all, you're a Thinker. To see what it really means to be a Thinker, consider the true story that appears in the Survivor Case Studies.

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Another slow cooker recipe success!

Seafood stew with halibut and shrimp. Yum!


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Quinoa and Corn Stuffed Bell Peppers

MC and I are always looking for new slow cooker recipes.  They tend to be pretty easy to make, clean up is pretty simple (as long as we use the liners) and they tend to make plenty enough for at least one or two leftover servings. In the vein of eating healthy, we decided to try out the Weight Watchers Slow Cooker Cookbook.  From the initial flip-through, there are some pretty yummy sounding things in there and I thought I would go ahead and share the first endeavor! First, I cooked the quinoa. Then it was pretty much combine the other ingredients and get ready to stuff those peppers!  While the name says it is stuffed with quinoa and corn, there are also black beans, lots of spinach, and some other items in there as well. It said 2 cups of packed spinach, but judging from the look of my bowl, I packed it a little tighter than I think they were expecting ;-) It said to buy large bell peppers, and I made the special trip to New Leaf to get some super large ones (the ones at Publix weren't very large). For some reason red, yellow, and orange peppers there are huge while all the green peppers are little midgets.  Hence the lack of green pepper representation. Anyhoo, they ended up just barely holding all the stuffing, so that worked well, but any larger and they wouldn't have fit in the slow cooker! Spoon the combination of salsa verde and diced tomatoes over the peppers... Wait 5 hours and there you have it! The recipe called for 4-6 hours (I usually just split the difference on ranges), but I think next time I will put it in for 4 then see how they do.  I like my veggies a little "al dente," but they still turned out to be really good AND pretty filling!  I can't wait to try something else!

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Awesome proof that very few people read EULAs and such

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2010/04/15/gamestation-we-own-your-soul/1 So basically GameStation, a UK game retailer, added a clause to its agreement in which it stated that, by agreeing, GameStation now owned the user's immortal soul.  There was an opt-out box for users who actually read the agreement (and they got a gift certificate for doing so).  I thought this was pretty darn funny and had to share. I know that I, for one, hardly ever read those agreements.  They are usually ridiculously long and full of standard legal-ese.  Perhaps I should change my habits ;-)

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Hitting the box

Hitting the box, originally uploaded by fincher69.

From a night winching session with Red Bull and the FSU wakeboarding club. I was happy to get anything considering how little light there was, but had to keep my ISO almost at max to get much to come out at all. Still not too unhappy with the results.

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Dustin spinning like crazy

Dustin spinning like crazy, originally uploaded by fincher69.

From a night winching session with Red Bull and the FSU wakeboarding club. I was happy to get anything considering how little light there was, but had to keep my ISO almost at max to get much to come out at all. Still not too unhappy with the results.

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Almost like a painting

Almost like a painting, originally uploaded by fincher69.

From a night winching session with Red Bull and the FSU wakeboarding club. I was happy to get anything considering how little light there was, but had to keep my ISO almost at max to get much to come out at all. Still not too unhappy with the results.

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Long Shutter = mooch off other people's flashes

Long Shutter = mooch off other people's flashes, originally uploaded by fincher69.

From a night winching session with Red Bull and the FSU wakeboarding club. I was happy to get anything considering how little light there was, but had to keep my ISO almost at max to get much to come out at all. Still not too unhappy with the results.

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Nose Press

Nose Press, originally uploaded by fincher69.

From a night winching session with Red Bull and the FSU wakeboarding club. I was happy to get anything considering how little light there was, but had to keep my ISO almost at max to get much to come out at all. Still not too unhappy with the results.

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Experimenting with longer shutter speeds

Experimenting with longer shutter speeds, originally uploaded by fincher69.

From a night winching session with Red Bull and the FSU wakeboarding club. I was happy to get anything considering how little light there was, but had to keep my ISO almost at max to get much to come out at all. Still not too unhappy with the results.

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Pretty nice box for Dog Lake

Pretty nice box for Dog Lake, originally uploaded by fincher69.

From a night winching session with Red Bull and the FSU wakeboarding club. I was happy to get anything considering how little light there was, but had to keep my ISO almost at max to get much to come out at all. Still not too unhappy with the results.

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Red Bull Rider Adam Errington

Red Bull Rider Adam Errington, originally uploaded by fincher69.

From a night winching session with Red Bull and the FSU wakeboarding club. I was happy to get anything considering how little light there was, but had to keep my ISO almost at max to get much to come out at all. Still not too unhappy with the results.

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Even had some pros come out!

Even had some pros come out!, originally uploaded by fincher69.

From a night winching session with Red Bull and the FSU wakeboarding club. I was happy to get anything considering how little light there was, but had to keep my ISO almost at max to get much to come out at all. Still not too unhappy with the results.

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Nick tearing it up

Nick tearing it up, originally uploaded by fincher69.

From a night winching session with Red Bull and the FSU wakeboarding club. I was happy to get anything considering how little light there was, but had to keep my ISO almost at max to get much to come out at all. Still not too unhappy with the results.

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Hitting the flatbar

Hitting the flatbar, originally uploaded by fincher69.

From a night winching session with Red Bull and the FSU wakeboarding club. I was happy to get anything considering how little light there was, but had to keep my ISO almost at max to get much to come out at all. Still not too unhappy with the results.

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Palace Saloon 5k

This is apparently one of the oldest 5ks in Tallahassee.  I've heard about it for a while, but it usually occurs Easter weekend, which typically means I am home, so I have never been able to make it.  This year it finally worked out!  The weather was clear and low 50s, and the course was mostly pretty flat except for one decent hill at the 2.5 mile mark (as you can see below).  We have been pretty consistent with our training, but really don't want to push things too hard so we took a few walk breaks and left plenty in the tank for a strong finish.  Julia joined us until our first walk break, then it was just me and MC. Another first for this race was a guy that we passed on the side of the course.  He had been running the race and something happened and he was unconscious and could very well have been having a seizure (eyes rolling back in his head, etc.).  People were on the phone with 911, but it was kinda crazy to witness.  I've seen people struggling at the end of races, but nothing like that.  Hope the guy was ok. Anyhoo, it was a good race, glad we got to do it this year. It could definitely use some better organization (waited for like 20 minutes for beer, then just gave up and left, finish was pretty jammed, etc.), and having the start be over 1.5 miles from the finish was a little annoying. I like to be done with my exercise after the race. :-) Still, I was especially excited for the t-shirts given the running beer mug logo :-) It's the little things! 32:38 MC - 32:39 Julia - 28:05

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Mmmm.... Pizza...

Millet and flax crust, loads of veggies, and faux mozzarella made from rice!

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Now that's some good advertising...

Posted normally until I get things on my phone set up to post straight from my phone.

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Now that's some good advertising...

Posted normally until I get things on my phone set up to post straight from my phone.

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Buzz update

I finally got my blog connected to my Google Buzz! I had been working on it a bit and tried a couple of different things to no avail, but recently figured out the step I was missing!  So here are (I believe) all the steps I needed to do.

1. Add a link to my Public Google Profile to my blog page
2. Add a rel="me" (and possibly type="text/html") attribute to the anchor tag (the link) For example: <a type="text/html" rel="m" href="http://mypage">link text</a>
3. Add a link to my blog page on my Google Profile
4. When editing my Google profile, I went to "My links", clicked "edit" on the link to my blog, then checked "this page is about me" (this is the step that I missed last time)
5. Wait! After google recrawls your site (the little crawler bots find it), when you go to connected sites in Buzz it should show up.

And there it is!  My outside blog connected to Google Buzz. :-)

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Buzz update

I finally got my blog connected to my Google Buzz! I had been working on it a bit and tried a couple of different things to no avail, but recently figured out the step I was missing!  So here are (I believe) all the steps I needed to do.

1. Add a link to my Public Google Profile to my blog page
2. Add a rel="me" (and possibly type="text/html") attribute to the anchor tag (the link) For example: <a type="text/html" rel="m" href="http://mypage">link text</a>
3. Add a link to my blog page on my Google Profile
4. When editing my Google profile, I went to "My links", clicked "edit" on the link to my blog, then checked "this page is about me" (this is the step that I missed last time)
5. Wait! After google recrawls your site (the little crawler bots find it), when you go to connected sites in Buzz it should show up.

And there it is!  My outside blog connected to Google Buzz. :-)

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This might be getting printed out for my cubicle

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Bad ass sonar

I saw this on Wired this morning and thought I would share. That's an image generated by sonar of a Russian submarine at the bottom of the Barents sea.  These folks apparently specialize in high-res sonar, and I just thought I would share because I had never seen such a vivid sonar image.  You can check out the whole article over at Wired (or by clicking on the picture)

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Workouts - Accountability

Recently, my fiancee MC posted on her blog about getting in shape and using her blog as a means of accountability to keep with it.  I've made a couple workout-related posts, but decided that I would follow her example and keep things shared on here.  I HAVE been keeping track of my workouts with MapMyFitness and have even set up a Twitter account as a means of progressive updates. Don't worry, I won't become one of those people who broadcast every workout, but I think a monthly recap (in addition to my race posts) would probably be a good idea.  On a quick side note, I actually set up the Twitter account just to embed it easier into my page.  If you check out my Activities and Fitness category of posts, the Twitter feed appears where my welcome message appears on the main page. Anyhoo, back to monthly updates. While I haven't been super awesome, I HAVE been keeping pretty active and trying to watch how I eat even more.  Here's how February looked. I could definitely improve the number of aerobic workouts, but I could definitely have done a lot less!  In March, I was about the same, though I kept forgetting to weigh in so I'm not sure where those numbers stand.  Also in March, I had a pretty bad strain of a muscle in my neck/shoulder, hence the gap in working out. I was pretty happy with the beginning of the month as well since that included our trip to San Francisco. Tons of food, but luckily lots of walking as well. So that's how my last couple of months have shaped up (pun intended).  Here's hoping that getting back into running with MC and easing back into my weights makes for a healthy and fit April!

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Streaming content from my computer to my PS3

This is something I've been playing around with for a while and since I found lots of sites that talked about different ways to do it but few worked for me, I thought I would make a little post about my setup to help anyone that might be trying to do the same thing. So essentially I have lots of movies on my computer (an iMac) that I would like to be able to watch on my PS3.  I played around with a couple pieces of software to make my computer a media server and they either weren't very good, or they cost money (I'm pretty stingy when it comes to paying for software).  As I've been working on hosting my own web page lately, I thought about using that (but just locally) to get the media from my computer to my PS3.  So I turned on web sharing on my computer so I would have access to my Sites folder from other computers on my network.  I didn't want to move my media around so I created a symbolic link to the movies in my web folder like so:

ln -s ~/Movies/Films movies

So now when I look in my web folder, there is a folder called "movies" that points to where I have all the movie files for the films I want to share. I don't think permissions need to be changed, but the "Films" folder might need additional permissions from default. For some reason, I had trouble getting my computer to allow directory listings to be displayed through the browser. I found a couple sites describing what to do, but none seemed to work for me so I concocted a little workaround. I threw together a little script to just make a list of links to the movies in the folder (for me they are all either .m4v or .mp4 files) and here it is: #!/bin/bash
#
# Script to create a linked directory listing of files in the folder

echo "<html><title>Movies</title><body>" > index.html
for f in `ls *.mp4 *.m4v`
    do
        echo "<a href=$f>$f</a><br>" >> index.html
    done
echo "</body></html>" >> index.html
So basically it just makes a simple webpage that links to each of the movie files, nothing too fancy. So then all I have to do is hop on my PS3, open up the browser and point it to http://my.computers.local.ip/~username/movies and TADA! I have a listing of all the movie files to choose from. I can either just click on them and they will stream or I can save them and watch later. As they are decently high quality (and thus large files), streaming only works ok, so I tend towards downloading first. It takes less than a half an hour to transfer a movie so we don't have to wait that long, then I can just delete the file when I am done to save space.

If anyone stumbles upon this, I hope it was helpful!

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