Garage Door Optimizations

I've replaced our chain-driven garage door opener with a belt drive one. The estimated 2-hr task took 3 hours but the door now operates with less noise. I'm now looking at nylon garage door rollers to further reduce noise. Will this strange obsession ever end?

WNYC's Radiolab

if i don't respond its because i'm catching up on old episodes of WNYC's Radiolab.

Camera Gear

ok - here is my kit: nikon d90, tamron model A14 AF18-200mm F/3.5-6.3, nikon AF-S DX nikkor 35mm f/1.8G and nikon speedlight SB-600.

Geocaching

www.geocaching.com wins the "My S*#t Just Works" award this week for their web-based tool that downloads waypoint data to your GPS device. I plugged in my Garmin Geko 201 to a USB-to-Serial adapter and with one button press downloaded from the site to my GPS.

OId or Broken

NY Times article on cyber security

Contractors Vie for Plum Work, Hacking for U.S. This comment (#40) is by far my favorite. The terms used are rather typical of media discussions on the topic. Not sure I get the intent of describing the individuals in the area as "hacker soldiers" as most of them are contractors. A commenting post on the article made a reference to "mercenaries". Maybe "digital mercenaries" is a better description? This article is too easy to pick on.

Replaced Fuel Pump

Disappointing fuel pump has been shamelessly exposed on the garage floor for others to mock

New fuel pump installed

Online Backup Service

I've switched my online backup service from Mozy to Carbonite. Costs and features are comparable now between the vendors and they all seem to offer file version support for up to 30 days on deleted files. My Mozy subscription was up for renewal and I've been reading some less than positive feedback from Mozy users. I'll see how Carbonite works outs.

Hook Sizing Chart

I was tracking down some info for pouring lead jig heads and ran across this table of hook sizes. When printed out, the hook sizes are fairly close to actual. Anyway - reference data for those selecting and organizing their tackle (who isn't looking for this sort of thing?).

Gmail

Gmail theme of choice: Ninja

What I'm Watching

Sukiyaki Western Django: I liked it, made me laugh.
Quench: Intro indie film, didn't see the story end coming.

Sort of a book club site

I've moved my book reading postings to http://www.goodreads.com/. This site provides a better framework than my blog and allows networking with other readers. I especially enjoy the competitive nature it fosters with respect to largest "read list".

Benefits of Swimming

Olympic dreams indeed: ** Food for fuel: Olympian Phelps' unusual diet **

Video Stuff

Supervillian + video blog = Internet musical? Why not. http://www.drhorrible.com/mushortio.html Thanks bork!

What I'm Reading

Arsenals of Folly - The Making of the Nuclear Arms Race, by Richard Rhodes. The Tales of Edgar Allan Poe.

What I'm Watching

The Proposition, Across the Universe, and No Country for Old Men, all excellent flicks. The Lookout and Transformers were pretty good. Juno is a really great movie.

Mao offered U.S. 10 million women

link to story... enough said

What I'm...

Reading: Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson.
Watching: Paris, je t'aime, excellent movie! Planet Terror, probably not for everyone, but I thought it was hilarious. The Proposition, a good flick regardless of what Chrissy says. Shoot 'Em Up is a "I'm tired and don't want to think" movie and was voted most likely to appeal to primitive males. I liked it.

Ice Fishing Log: 2007-12-25

Five Island Lake, Emmetsburg Iowa. Mostly walleye with a few crappie. Jigs tipped w/ wax worms or minnows. Most bites were from 1'-5' off the bottom. We were in about 12' of water.

What I'm...

Reading: The Bourne Identity, by Robert Ludlum. Sorry Erin, I might have abused the book a bit. In The Hot Zone, by Kevin Sites.
Playing: Resident Evil 4 (wii edition)
Adding to Mozilla Firefox: Forecastfox plugin