Geeky Tip

This is a rediculously geeky tip. Since upgrading to Vista, the backup program I use (Second Copy) slows down the whole computer to a crawl--the CPU is at 100%. This tip makes it bearable to still use it while it backs up and "fixes" the program using 100% of the computer.

Start the Windows Task Manager by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL. On the "Processes" tab, right click the program that is using all the CPU and select "Set Affinity" from the menu. On the window that shows, uncheck one of the boxes (but leave at least one still checked!)

This works until you close the program, or restart Window; then you'll have to do the same thing again.

What this really does: Most newer computers really have more than one "core" in the main chip, this lets them do several things at once. Doing that Affinity sets the program so it will only use one of the cores in the chip--which lets the other core have a break and let you do something. After doing that, on the graph page in task manager, one will be at 100% while the other isn't---where before the program would have them both at 100%.

Star Wars Awesomeness

My wife ordered an old iron-on transfer book on eBay. She originally thought whe might use it for a quilt for me...but when it arrived, we realized there's no way we'd do that. It's far too cool as an old book.

(c) 1977 and I'd guess very early because of the text and pictures. A few decades pre-Photoshop, so I'm sure they had Darth Vader and the rest in these t-shirt for the cover.





They're all backward, and over the 30 years, the transfers have copied themselves to the opposite page a bit.

"Artoo Detoo" instead of R2-D2.

Same for "See Threepio"


One of our favorites...the old promotional poster that don't really look anything like the real characters.

A day at the beach

We went to the beach with the dogs. Notice how Makena will let Isabella sprint after the ball, then steals it at the last minute so she can be the one to return it to use.

We went with our friends Dara and Chere, and their dog Marcel.

iPhone Gestures

My wife and I have an iPhone. My biggest, and really only, complaint is about how it works as an iPod.

When she is driving and I'm in charge of the music, she says "Next" a lot. You have to press the Home button, then slide to unlock, then press the small Next button all to go to the next song.
(EDIT: As comments noted; also doing double-click the Home button and look to see the Next on the screen too. But still, you've got to look at the screen.)


Hopefully somebody at Apple is listening...add Locked iPhone Gestures.

Let me press the Home button, then "draw" commands with my finger on the "locked" screen. Simple shapes to tell it go to the next song or other commands. If it was me, I'd do a > shape like the button in the UI for next. Two fingers sliding down to do II that would pause. < to go back. I'm sure you could think of more...and it would be awesome.


And while you're at it, when playing an audiobook, the little slider to move back and forth in the book is way too sensative. For a 5 minute song it's OK, but a 2 hour book jumps minutes at a time. Again, you add Gestures. The good old "circling finger" as if I was using an old style iPod would be perfect to scroll forward and backward in the track.

Not what I expected

After spending a lifetime watching cartoons and movies, this is not what I expected to see happen after a fire hydrant was hit by a car.

Cool thing for my Resume

About 2 years ago now, when I was first adding the BitTorrent support to GetRight, I wrote a proposal for how others could do the same combining of HTTP/FTP downloads into a BitTorrent download that I was adding into GetRight.


It's been edited and updated a few times, the original is here:
http://getright.com/seedtorrent.html



As I've been working on other things and not paying attention, it's become a quite accepted standard for BitTorrent clients. All the main ones, including the BitTorrent.com client itself, now do it. Pretty awesome!


I've just written it up in the format for the new "BitTorrent Enhancement Proposals".



I get to add to my resume: "Invented the WebSeed mechanism that has become part of the BitTorrent protocol standards." (Draft in the proposals right now...but a lot of clients have done it.)
http://bittorrent.org/beps/bep_0019.html

Thoughts on Tech News...MS vs Yahoo

So when Microsoft made its huge bid for Yahoo, was it thinking:

If they take it, great.

If they don't, it will so mess Yahoo up, they'll be sidetracked for months or years and we can overtake them that way. People are starting to sue Yahoo for not accepting. It's created a huge amount of uncertainty for all Yahoo's employees. Hmm.