2010-1
26

Cool Video Tools

Category: Software | No Comments

I had a client ask me today to help with converting a bunch of WMV video files (Windows Media – Video) so that he could store them on his T-Mobile G1 and watch them.  After a bit of digging, I found a wonderful tool called HandBrake that exists to do nothing but convert videos between formats.

In true geekspeak:

HandBrake is an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded video transcoder, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.

The important thing here is that it’s “open-source” and “GPL-licensed,” which is to say that it’s free.

Oh, and it works beautifully.  In no time flat I had converted all of the WMV files to MP4 files that should work flawlessly on his Android-based G1 phone.  HandBrake would do a nice job of converting Windows videos to download to your iPhone or iPod Touch, too.

The other task he gave me was to replicate a DVD that he had produced a couple of years ago (just so we’re clear, he owns the content, so this is not about making illegal copies of commercial DVDs!)

For that, I turned to my old friend ImgBurn.  This wonderful tool — also free — will read and write CD’s and DVD’s.  In this case, I was able to rip the entire DVD to an ISO file, then pop in a blank DVD and burn an exact duplicate.

There you go!  Two new toys to add to your toolbox.

2010-1
12

Miracle on the Hudson

Category: Miscellaneous | No Comments

This is awesome!  It’s a simulator re-creation of the flight of USAirways Flight 1549 that suffered a bird strike and went down in the Hudson River in late 2009, complete with overlays of the various different radio communications.   No audio for the in-cabin discussions between Capt. Sullenberger and his First Officer, but you do get the transcript of what was happening in the cockpit.   Listen for how quickly the NY Departure air traffic controller grasps what’s going on, and how calm he is as he works to open up any possible path for a safe landing.  This is a fantastic testament to the professionalism of everybody involved in this miraculous event (nobody was killed!)

There’s another interesting simulation available, with a little less radio chatter and a clearer view of what it looked like from the plane.  Click here to view it.

2009-12
5

People are Funny

Category: Main Page | No Comments

In my search for as much information as I can find about my new Mustang, I found the online discussion forms at MustangForums.com (I have no idea how they came up with that name…none).

Anyway, I got a chuckle as I browsed around in the forums.

My car is a base Mustang V6, and has a black honeycomb grille with no foglights. The GT model (two steps up from mine, with a big V8 engine) has a grille with great big fog lights built in.

What amused me is that as I browsed around the “appearance” discussions, I noticed that one of the most-talked-about modifications that owners of V6’s make to their cars is the addition of a GT-style grille with foglights.  In fact, it’s one I’d like to make.

Here’s the “people are funny” part, though: I noticed that several folks who have the GT with the foglight grille were looking to replace the grille with one that DOESN’T have foglights!

I guess everybody wants what they don’t have and/or they just want to be different. Regardless, people ARE funny.

2009-12
3

Cool Toys for the New Toy

Category: Mustang | No Comments

Here are a few cool toys for the Mustang…a little “wish list” for the new toy:

1) Sequential Taillight Kit — Makes the turn signals blink in sequential fashion; very retro and wicked cool

Mustang Sequential Taillight Kit

2) Clear Turn Signal Lights – Converts the standard amber turn signals into a nicer chrome/clear deal

Mustang Clear Turn Signal Lights

3) Chrome Halo Headlights – Love that BMW Halo Effect!  Downside is that I don’t think these will work on my Mustang, because I have the daytime running lights.

Mustang Chrome Halo Headlights

4) Red Caliper Covers w/ Mustang Logo – I always did like the look of red brake calipers. (Bummer!  These won’t fit my car, since I have 16″ wheels)

Red Mustang Brake Caliper Covers

5) Magnetic Blackout Panel – Just like those old Mustangs in the early 70’s!

Mustang Satin Black Rear Panel

2009-12
2

The end of a MINI era…

Category: MINI, Mustang | No Comments

I traded in my beloved MINI today on a 2008 Ford Mustang.  2008 Mustang

It hurt a little bit, because that MINI was a WONDERFUL car, but it was time to move on as the MINI was quickly approaching 100,000 miles, and there were major systems that were due to begin breaking any minute.

The Mustang has just 19,000 miles on it (so it’s still covered by factory warranty for a while), and is in phenomenal condition.  A very minor ding in the driver’s door and some trivial scratches on the center console are the only things that I have found that are less than perfect.  It’s a pretty basic car — with the base 4.0L V-6 engine — but is wonderfully fun to drive and remarkably comfortable.  Plenty of room for a big guy (I’m 6′6″ tall).

The best part?  I have instantly and irrevocably been elevated to the level of “Coolest Dad in the Universe” by Christopher.  Christopher is pretty sure that there is no better car on earth than the Mustang, and he’s still not sure that I really, truly bought one.  He’s already seen many years in the future, and has decided that it would be OK for this to be a hand-me-down car for him when he goes off to college.  We’ll see…

2009-10
7

Homing Pigeons Faster than Broadband!

Category: Funny, Geek Stuff, Software | No Comments

This is wonderful!  homing pigeonA company in South Africa is going to begin using homing pigeons to transfer data between its two offices, which are roughly 50 miles apart.  Currently they use broadband to transfer about 4GB of encrypted data between the facilities.  It takes about six hours to transfer the data.  Instead, they’ll put the data on a small card and attach it to the leg of a homing pigeon, and they figure the data transfer will be completed in less than an hour.

Full Story

2009-10
5

Make huge $$ cleaning people’s teeth!

Category: Main Page | No Comments

Every day I scan my spam quarantine to see if any legitimate mail got snagged in there.  Seldom do I find real mail, but I’m often amused at the subject lines on spam messages.

spamThe first message in the quarantine this morning gave me a giggle:

Dental Assistant $50/hr min. salary

“Hmm,” I thought to myself.  “Could it really be that Dental Assistants make a minimum of $100,000/year (assuming they work full time)?!  That seems just a little bit high to me.”

So I looked it up.

According to Salary.com, the median expected salary for a Dental Assistant in the United States is $33,127.  Assuming full time (2,000 hrs/year), that works out to $16.56/hr.  I suppose it’s possible that they only work 13 hours a week, in which case the $50/hr figure might be correct, but either way, it’s just a little bit misleading.

Perhaps I should just move on to

The secret to making money online

or even

High paying jobs in criminal justice

But probably I’m just as likely to strike it rich with

Cash in with wholesale dropshippers

or

Get cash following you on Twitter

The sad thing is that something like 40% of my incoming mail is trapped as spam, and that’s fairly low.  I’ve heard statistics that upwards of 80% of the mail floating around on the Internet is spam.  What a waste!

2009-9
26

Ride on a U2 Spy Plane

Category: Geek Stuff | No Comments

This is REALLY cool!  The video’s pretty long (11 minutes) but worth every single second.

(Passed along by Ken, originally shared on the Professional Pilot News blog.)

2009-9
21

We’re Melting!

Category: Main Page | No Comments

Barn Underwater - West Cobb County, Georgia - Villa Rica Rd. near Casteel Rd.

The barn in the picture above is about 2 miles from my house.  We’ve had probably close to eight inches of rain in the last 24 hours, and it’s getting surreal.  There’s localized flooding here and there (apparently Paulding County is worse off).  Hwy 78 through Snellville was shut down this morning for a while due to a mudslide across the road.  Cobb County schools announced earlier today that they would dismiss middle schools at 1:15pm (versus the usual 4:15pm), and elementary and high schools would let out at their usual times (2:50p and 3:30p or so).  All extracurricular activities tonight have been canceled. 

I’ve got a bit of water in my office, but there’s lots more in the office at the back of the building, where the storm drain has been overwhelmed and just can’t handle the volume of water that’s flowing down.  My friend Bud has been fighting a leak in his roof for a few days, but that’s the least of his problems right now; he now has water flooding into his basement through the foundation walls, presumably because the water table has risen so high.  I’d go help him bail, but he says that it’s impossible to get into (or out of!) his subdivision because the entrances are flooded.

And to make things interesting here at the office, the rising water has unleashed the ANTS…legions of them.  Fortunately for me, they’re all at the back of the building.  Rich took such delight in nuking them that it bordered — but only barely — on the perverse.

My very favorite commentary on all of it was this Facebook post from my friend, Mark Bullman:

 

I’m taking reservations for the Lido & Carnival decks of the new M-Ark I’ve been working on. We have limited availability because I have to fit 2 of every unclean & 4 of every clean animal on board. We at M-Ark Lines expect two other ships to be ready to sail from Paces Landing on the Chattahoochee in the next few days. So, contact your travel agent right away, spaces are filling quickly (like the tributaries).

 

 

2009-8
29

When your MINI’s window gets stuck…

Category: MINI | 4 Comments

03_MINI_Cooper_SThe driver’s side window on my MINI Cooper has always been a bit temperamental.  Most of the time it works fine, but every so often it takes a vacation and will quit working.

The last time it happened, the car was going in for service anyway (to fix a cracked coolant overflow) so I had them check it.  They wanted $400 to put a new motor in it.  Hrumph.  I said I’d live with it.  Curiously, when I got the car back, it worked fine.  They claimed it was because they disassembled and reassembled the door to check it out.

It worked fine for about six months after that until about a month ago, when once again it took some time off.  I’ve been living with it.

A couple of days ago, I ran into a friend who has a similar ‘03 MINI Cooper and we were comparing notes.  He’s got 126,000 on his MINI, I’ve got 95,000.  Both cars still drive like they’re new.  He just got new brakes (or something similarly expensive), I just got a new A/C Compressor.

Then Donna mentioned that my window has been on the fritz, and Pete blew my mind:

“Oh, that’s easy.  Hold the window switch down and hit the door hard about halfway between the door handle and the speaker.  Then let go of the switch and try it.  Should work fine.  I’ve been doing that for three years.”

Yeah, right.  I said I’d try beating up my car when I got home.

Doggone if it didn’t work!  It was like getting a new car!  I don’t know why I never thought of percussive maintenance before.

Thanks, Pete.

I offer this story here so that if anybody else has a MINI Cooper with windows that periodically stop working, perhaps it will be helpful to them as well…