Erik's Pulse has been published. 
Caught!
The Bellevue police has arrested two kids they think are responsible for the recent arson spree. They both live in the apartment complex aside from us.
XPC Rocks!
The Shuttle XPC finally arrived. Well, we had to go pick it up in Auburn, yesterday. FedEx Ground kept on trying to deliver it on the wrong side of the street.
Wow… This thing is so tiny. When they say the size of shoe box, they mean it.
I probably won't set it up until the weekend, but I couldn't resist trying it out. It booted up without a hitch, so I'm assuming everything's A-OK.
I'm definitely going to have to get a copy of the 64bit version of XP…
[@857]Fire!
There has been a string of arsons in our neighborhood. Yesterday, it hit very close to home. Someone set a trash bin on fire about 15 feet from our building. The press was camped out it front of the building most of day, yesterday.
Our neighborhood is going down the drain, fast.
We also talked with a neighbor who told us they got jumped by a couple of drug addicts a few weeks back. In the parking lot, early morning, on their way to work.
That's it. We're getting a new place. We've been thinking about it for a while anyway.
I'm going to get in touch with some real estate people next week and start looking for a new condo. We should able to find something pretty quick.
I'm also still planning on taking a trip to Barcelona at the end next month to find/buy a house. I have to wait for my mom to get back from vacation in Tunisia. I wouldn't think of buying anything in Europe without her. She's the real estate expert in the family.
I've just released LifeBlogger 0.2 which now supports the Textamerica API.
I've also added support for posts titles when using the MetaWeblog API.
As usual the source is on the CVS server.
Erik's Pulse has been published.
800 != 650
Apparently the Jabra BT800 Bluetooth headset is not fully compatible with the Treo 650. The issues are currently being researched and there is no timeline for a solution at this time.
Thanks Imshea for the report.
Moblog API
Textamerica has introduced a new XML-RPC-based API. Darla has been pestering me about it. I told her I'd check it out to see if I could incorporate it in LifeBlogger.
The API is very similar to, yet incompatible with, the MetaWeblog API. Why they decided to create a non-standard API, is beyond me. This is really not rocket science. Introducing yet another variation is a recipe for disaster.
I think Flickr had the right idea when they implemented the Atom API for Lifeblog.
[@032]
David Czarnecki has already created TextAmerica4J.
Vantec NexStar 2
Yesterday, I installed my secondary internal drive into a Vantec NexStar 2 USB hard disk enclosure.
I did quite some research to find the right external enclosure. I can see why the NexStar 2 always gets high marks. The case is extremely light and very sleek looking. Installation is extremely simple. Plug and play all the way.
There is no fan in the unit, which worried me a bit. Ventilation is provided by grids on each side of the case. It does seem to provide adequate air flow, even after letting it run for a few hours.
There's not much more I can ask for, especially for less than $40.
[@821]
Erik's Pulse has been published.
TuneCast II
The weekend trip was a blast. It was nice to get away for a few days. We took a few pictures.
Since there was a lot of driving involved, I thought it would be the perfect time to try our new Belkin TuneCast II FM Transmitter. I was quite worried after reading the various reports of atrocious sound quality and inability to find a good reception on a busy FM spectrum. The FM dial in the Seattle area is overbooked. It doesn't matter which frequency you pick; there's always a station near by. I left the unit on the default 88.1 frequency, just to see if it worked. I was not expecting good results since there is a station located at 88.5. I was wrong; it worked like a charm. The sound quality was not bad either. Definitely not as clear as a CD, but as good, if not better, than a standard radio station. The volume is a little low though. I had to crank the Carbon up. I never had to change the frequency during the whole trip, even though 88.1 was taken by a station in the Ellensburg area. Rechargeable batteries would be nice. I'm not sure how long the batteries will actually last. We used it for about 6 hours total. So far, so good.
Congratulations!
You ain't no fool!
Bluetooth Printing
Yesterday, I connected an IOGEAR GBP201 USB/Bluetooth Print Adapter to our printer. Installation was brain-dead. No software, just wires. Configuration was easy too, except for the lack of instructions for Macs.
We can now print from any of our machines, over Bluetooth. Sweet.
Printing from my 6630 did not work. Apparently Nokia implemented BPP (Basic Printing Profile) while the adapter supports HCRP (Hardcopy Cable Replacement Profile) and SPP (Serial Port Profile). Typical.
Nevertheless, if you're looking to share your USB printer and have Bluetooth handy; this is definitely the way to go.
Weekend Trip
Today, we'll be heading to Eastern Washington for the weekend. We're going to visit Vik's niece who just recently gave birth.
Since we'll be traveling, there probably won't be many linkblog updates today. Sorry about that. I'll try to catch up over the weekend. We should have good connectivity at the hotels we're staying at.
Yahoo! 360°
Russ invited to Yahoo! 360° yesterday. Thanks!
I've been handing out invites too. (Darla, Jon, Gustaf, Martin, Jim, Matthew, etc.)
The first thing I did was upload my trademark caricature, a few minutes later it was rejected by Yahoo!
I assume that since it is not an actual picture of me, it goes again Yahoo's personal photo guidelines. Or maybe they simply reject pictures which could be copyrighted.
There you go, social networking with rules and regulations.
[@032].US
I just received the following:
Dear Valued Go Daddy Customer, Today I have the unfortunate responsibility of informing you that there has been a decision made by bureaucrats of a Federal agency that takes away your right to privacy as guaranteed by the United States Constitution. This decision was unilaterally made by the National Telecommunications and Information Association ("NTIA") www.ntia.doc.gov without hearings that would determine the impact on those affected, and delivered without notice ? in short, the NTIA decision was made without due process of any kind. This is exactly how our government is not supposed to work. The effect of this decision is to disallow new private domain name registrations on .US domain names. In addition, if you already own a private .US domain name registration, you will be forced to forfeit your privacy no later than January 26, 2006. By that time, you will need to choose between either making your personal information available to anyone who wants to see it, or giving up your right to that domain name. I personally find it ironic that our right to .US privacy was stripped away, without due process, by a federal government agency — an agency that should be looking out for our individual rights. For the NTIA to choose the .US extension is the ultimate slap in your face. .US is the only domain name that is specifically intended for Americans (and also those who have a physical presence in our great country). So think about this for a moment. These bureaucrats stripped away the privacy that you're entitled to as an American, on the only domain name that says that you are an American. I am outraged by this ? you should be also. If, like me, you are outraged at the NTIA's decision to strip away our constitutional right to privacy, www.TheDangerO fNoPrivacy.com will provide you with a petition to sign. (Only your name will be published, your address and email information will be kept private.) This Web site also provides a very easy way for you to send either a fax or an email, expressing your outrage, to your Congressperson and Senators. This is all provided at no cost to you. All that is required is for you to take the time to visit www.TheDangerO fNoPrivacy.com sign the petition, and send the fax or email to your legislators. On my personal Blog, www .BobParsons.com there are a number of articles where you can learn more about the NTIA's unfortunate decision and what you can do to help get it reversed. I also will be talking about our right to privacy on Radio Go Daddy, our weekly radio show that debuts today, March 30, at 7 PM PST. To find out how to listen in, please visit the Web site dedicated to the show, www.RadioG oDaddy.com. You can be sure that I, and everyone at GoDaddy.com, will do everything in our power to get the NTIA decision reversed. However, we need your help. Please visit www.TheDangerO fNoPrivacy.com to sign the petition and express your feelings to your Congressperson and Senators. Sincerely, Bob Parsons[@456]
President and Founder
GoDaddy.com
Erik's Pulse has been published.
