Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Hello TenGo pc

I had heard of TenGo before but did not think that I had use for it... then I saw the video.

Aximsite had a link to a new release of the programme on it`s home page and I thought it might be worth a look.

I have been trying to improve my blog posting, especially when not able to use my Sierra BT keyboard.

I didn`t get on brilliantly with Calligrapher, maybe because I am so used to typing in a more restricted way on my Sony-Ericsson P910i; the programme works well enough but the screen on this Axim is just a little too small.

Apart from the trial text, this is the first typing I have done with it. I am feeling very happy with the look and feel of this.

Nearly time for Cathy to get home, so I`ll post this now.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Trackback has arrived

Thanks to Sumocat's posting I now have trackback on my site. Brilliant.

If I come up with something, that another kind soul sees fit to refer to, it'll be a morale boost. In photography, I have always had more pleasure from the recognition than the money and writing is the same.

Thank you Haloscan.

commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

If I were a rich man

I got to thinking in an idle moment what I might do if I won the lottery.

I would like enough that both Cathy and I could give up work. What would we do with our time? Firstly, hang out with our parents. I always remember how, as a child, life revolved around my grandmother's kitchen. With my father and grandfather working out of there, the ice cream factory and vans being just outside, there were always comings and goings. I'd like to be able to call around to Mum and Dad's or Cathy's Dad's whenever we felt like it; hanging out, going for lunch, recording family history and visiting places.

Cathy and I are very lucky, we had a great childhood. At least one parent around all the time and parents with time to spend with us. I am not advocating that one parent shouldn't work, just that it worked well for us in the 1960s and 1970s.

We've also had the benefit of living close, very close in my case, to our parents. Already, so much more opportunity to spend time I realise.

Something else would be to catch up with friends both known and those that I have made via the Internet but never met. I was saying to my cousin, when over from Australia, that we got to visit them a few times when they first married and then they emigrated, (is it me?). Also there are people who have come over but we've only been able to spend a very shortwhile with. Some we visit and others are on the other side of the world and we haven't seen in so long.

There are places on my list from my younger self. New York and Shakespeare's garden, so loved by Helenne Hanff; Perachora near Corinth, written about by the late Dilys Powell, who was so kind to correspond with me; the site of a house that was being built in the 1970s show Petrocelli; the locations in Japan visited by the Englishman who was source for James Clavell's Shogun; the Great North Road in Japan, travelled by one of the most celebrated haiku poets Basho.; the final resting places of Humphrey Payne, husband to Dilys Powell, he died in the 1930s, and John Pendlebury, archeologist turned Greek resistance fighter in Crete; the site of James Rockford's caravan, just to see how much it's changed; some of the fountain pen makers in Firenze; these are just for starters.


Sunday, September 24, 2006

Oh for a Tardis now packing time is here

It's that time again, where the leaves begin to fall and our thoughts turn to warmer climes.

I have always had a problem with packing to go anywhere. My general outlook is upbeat but I do lean towards the boy scout mentality when it comes to going anywhere - be prepared. If it can be packed and and carried I'll take it.

The sight of me turning up to visit friends has always been a source of amusement. First they see this 6 foot column of pockets, followed by a huge red shed of a suitcase.

It is quite normal for me to be stopped on the way through security; if it isn't for the metal in my walking boots, it's because of all the wires that my gadgets require. Last year I took a laptop, minidisc player, mp3 player (or two-in case one failed) amongst other bits. What with data leads and charging leads I had quite a collection. Given the dimensions of my case, I'm surprised it's not to check for stowaways.

This year I am being squeezed on two counts. Firstly, the prevailing security has restricted the size of carry on luggage and, second, our friends have smaller cars. I am going to look on this as an opportunity, one that will force me out of my comfort zone as I move into an era of smaller cases.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Back on the train

I am once again getting to travel on the train, headed to our St Austell office.

I enjoy the chance to sit back and let someone else do the driving. It's a shame that we cannot get reasonable priced tickets to travel up the line very often. Since "rationalising" the pricing structure it seems much more expensive when travelling up the line,at least every time I look. I have hopes for December, as I cannot find a flight that competes in price or timings, despite Ryanair having one of it's major sales again.

The day is fair for travelling but is not slated to ciontinue to be so. apparentlky the West coast opf the UK is due to get the tail end of a hurricane tomorrow. While Scotland and Ireland will take the brun t it may well mean strong gusts and rain for the walk in or out of the office.

I have been watching out for the Al Gore film that has been released in the UK, though I don't know if I should given the worry current programming on global warming has caused me. I see people retired today who are living a fairly comfortable life in comparison to the level of skill in areas such as health compared to, say, the 1950s. What will the world be like in 30+ years time?

Having mentioned advances in what's available today, compared to the past I can't help thinking that simpler is sometimes better. I heard a programme on a BBC Radio 2 last night, it was about references to early in the nuclear age and how it related to the music/media of the day. There was a public information broadcast piece from the US of the 1950s featuring Groucho Marx. Groucho assurred viewers/listeners that there was a very good chance that they would survive a atomic bomb attack -provided the followed some simple precautions; the steps offered included keeping 3 days of food and water in a sealed container in the refridgerator, a torch and first aid kit. If onlty it would be as stra=ightforward for nuclear war or climate change.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Observations from the prom

The wind is whipping along from Newlyn, like a protest for the way it's Methodist Chapel missed out on the BBC Restoration Show prize.

There is a chill in it like plunging in to the sea for the first time come summer. Sitting in it for a while I can feel my body drawing heat from the intermittent sunshine.

My head's been muggy/fuzzy all morning, this wind is like a pipe cleaner between my ears - excellent.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Computer Shopper News

Lost laptops pile up at Heathrow
Increased security checks cause laptops losses to triple.

I wonder if they'll end up selling off any they don't reunite with owners after a period of time...though if I was affected I might not be so flippant I guess.

Monday, September 11, 2006

Papercraft food, flavoured ink and cooked with lasers

Now this is definitely somewhere I want to visit Moto restaurant Chicago.

Found on Boing Boing

Sunday, September 10, 2006

The promise of Storygrinder

The name is remiscent of those times when I have sat down and tried to "grind out" an article. Storygrinder is a piece of software by a chap called Stephenson; I must apologise as his full name escapes me for the moment - his site is http://homepage.mac.com - remembering names has always been a challenge for me but that's a tale for another time).

This current programme is for the Apple Mac but, as he has had a Pocket PC blogging tool in the past, I hold out hope that he might port it over at some point in the future. Not that I need additional blogging tools but I am an accumulator; when my interest is sparked, like a magpie, I go out and gather many bright shiny things that catch my eye. As a book collector, I am aided and abetted if that new thing comes in hard copy. I am finding, from my experiences with book reading on this Axim, virtual items also meet the collecting criteria.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

The beauties of a Cornish night

I went to put our car away the other night and paused.

There was a full moon that painted everywhere in silver. Without the distraction of colour everything stands out so clearly.

Our little cottage lies on a hill. Properties on the side nearest the sea lie below us, those on our opposite side above. The arrangement means that, with the wind coming off the sea and up the valley that old Porthleven lies in, we can hear the surf breaking on the beach shore. One of the properties above us has a thicket of mature bamboo; it is well developed and lush so that the same breeze swishes the heavy canopy to bring another beautiful sound. On the third and fourth sides, the houses are also slightly higher and this places us in a sort of bowl. The amphetheatre as it is shields us from traffic noise from the nearby road through the village and contributes to my being able to just stand and listen.

The longer I stand the more I can hear as some noises drop into the background and others appear, such as the call of seagulls unsettled somewhere in the village by perhaps a passing cat.

Moon free nights alter what I hear. The amphitheatre aspect means that a majority of street lights can be hidden behind buildings, excellent for star gazing. Whenever I look at the stars I get lost in thoughts of what is out there, whether we might find evidence of life [or even intelligent life down here]. If I concentrate, I can almost make out the opaque swirl of the milky way - amazing.

Friday, September 08, 2006

Windows Mobile 5 workplace

I saw a piece on Jason Langridge's site that holds out promise from a business point of view: LIVEPVR for Windows Mobile 5.

To be able to record the main points in a meeting, rather than eat up storage, is an excellent idea.

Monday, September 04, 2006

Just when I had got the hang of the buses

It's not rocket science and I probably shouldn't have taken the summer to get into a routine, but I did.

I got on the bus this morning, after a couple of days leave, knowing that I could doze my way to the bus station. First sign of things being different was the bus not detouring through the village where I once had my dream job.

I put it down to being a new driver, after all I had done this run 3 or 4 days per week for months; we had gone far past the turning by the time I reached this measured opinion. It wasn't enough to worry me, after all it was 14+ years late if I was going there.

Off I went into a doze, my prime derence against the now distant threat of travel sickness; (if you have had to suffer travel sickness, every time you went for a weekly car outing, at the age of 10 you'll know how strong the dread could be).

I woke up suddenly, stirred by what felt to be a explosive cold sweat. One minute nothing and the next I'm swimming up Perspiration River. My stomach was churning. On top of feeling rough

Saturday, September 02, 2006

I love paperplanes

I saw this on Digg, one of those "why couldn't I have thought of that" corkers. Paperplane business card

Greece nets a big win

USA loses in a huge upset to Greece in the semifinals, 101-95
01/09/06 15:18
In a shocking turn of events, team USA basketball loses to Greece in the World Basketball Championships in Japan.

This story is from Digg and reminds me of the European Cup (football/soccer).

I am not a serious gambler; the only time I have been in a betting shop and placed a bet was on the Grand National horse race and the race got cancelled. It was only after Greece got to the semi-final that I realised what odds they had started with - 100:1.

Being a Gredophile, I find myself leaning to supporting Greece in many things and, at 100:1, it would have been likely that I would have risked a pound or two. (Hindsight is a wonderful thing). I bet the odds were similarly tempting for Greece beating the US - go Greece.

Joy in the company of brighter people

Catching up on my RSS feed reading, I came across a piece on the Channel9 blog posted by Chewy about a programme called MSR Groupshot.

Rather than the article itself, it was the following sentence that chimed:

"I love my job!? One of the nicest part of it is? having accessing to a whole bunch of people smarter than me (I take comfort that I?m better looking)."?

This is particularly true of when I worked specifically for an On Track project. I came into contact with people involved in the cutting edge of education; the promotion of things such as mindmapping, neurolinguistic programming and the encouragement to step outside my comfort zone would leave my mind buzzing.

The actual Groupshot programme is interesting, useful when photographing children and situations such as weddings - maybe a candidate for MobileTechRoundup's freeware of the day?

Google helps with catching up on the classics

Google increases opportunities to access classic literature I came across this on the Google blog. I enjoy making full use of this Axim and this news should support this.

I've always felt I was in reading deficit when it came to classic literature.

Pirillo pushes the envelope

I believe that this is part of Chris Pirillo's success, he certainly likes to set the conversation going - I'd entitle the (work unsafe) photo link in his post Not yeti.

Apparently, just after this photo, Chris was approached by a monkey asking if he knew of any good welders. (Brit humour).

Clipping items in Egress

I wonder how well this clipped link works.

I will now have another phone to consider given that James and Kevin enjoy it James goes for a new phone.

It turns out that copying the url to the clipboard and then inserting it into diarist works better than using Hubdog. Why do I jump around grabbing so many different programmes when I already have the answers?

2 - Wi-Fire extends wireless range to 1,000 feet

Filed under: ,

A new Pennsylvania-based startup, hField Technologies, has just gotten FCC approval for their new supercharged WiFi antenna, the Wi-Fire. The USB antenna boosts reception of faint WiFi signals, extending the range of existing networks up to 1,000 feet. hField's founders, recent Lehigh University graduates, had originally built the product for a student entrepeneurial challenge, and won first place, including the prize of $2,500. Earlier this summer, hField also recieved $25,000 of funding from a state-funded development organization, and the rest, as they say, is history (waiting to happen). The Wi-Fire is now on sale through hField directly for $150, though unfortunately without Mac support for now, it seems -- although if you have a Windows computer, it's guaranteed to put as big of a smile on your face as this girl's, though not nearly as big as these dudes'.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments




Comments added: This is another attempt to use the comment feature in Hubdog (www.hubdog.com).


One problem I noticed is that the comment window doesn't scroll so after a ccuple of sentences you can't see what you're writing.

This wifi extender has a lot of promise, I wonder how well it works through thick walls?

Posted by a Windows Mobile Device from channel :
Engadget

www.Hubdog.com

The Tremenheere (Pub), Penzance

Well, I decided to take a break from shopping on my day off and popped in for a drink; a good move as this cranberry J2O is hitting the spot.

I thought I would check the wifi while I was here. Unfortunately, while I can see the network myCloud, I cannot seem to connect. Hitchhiker reports a cycling through - finding the network, renewing the IP and redirecting but when I fire up the browser it doesn't go anywhere. Normally I would find my browser taken to a login page, from where I would login in using the details for my hotspot account. Most frustrating.

I'll post this when home.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Hubdog test

Before anyone shouts the previous post was by Robert Scoble) I was trying to use the Hubdog Blog It tool to clip and add comments
2 - How do you keep your stuff private on WiFi networks?

I was talking with a geek who’ll remain unnamed and he was telling me how easy it is for someone to sit at a Starbucks, slurp off the local WiFi, and recreate almost everything you do, often gaining passwords and private conversations. I saw this once at a conference where someone up on stage was showing the audience everything that was going over the WiFi networks. For instance, did you know that if you’re using many common Instant Messengers that those send your information over WiFi in plain text? I could be sitting next to you watching EVERYTHING you are typing across the Internet.


So, what do you do to keep your stuff confidential? Any tips beyond this excellent article in Security Focus on this topic? By the way, both this article and my geek friend recommended Off-the-Record Messenging if you want to hold private IM conversations over public WiFi networks.


One other problem is if you’re using a common computer, say one that a family might own, and you want to keep the other people in the family from seeing the sites and things you’re surfing to. Browzar is a new browser that keeps all that stuff to itself.





Comments added:

Posted by a Windows Mobile Device from channel :
Scobleizer - Microsoft Geek Blogger

www.Hubdog.com

About Me

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Cornwall, United Kingdom
A married Cornishman who is getting an inkling of what he wants to be when he grows up. I currently work for the NHS. [See bottom of page for Blog Archive and Links.]

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