Want to see a really cool touch-screen interactivity video? Would you like to see what’s in store for the next generation of touch screen computing? Well hold on to your preconceptions of touch screens only being for fast food chains and kiosk applications… and take a walk on the wild side of touch screen technology!

View the touchscreen demonstration video yourself. Quite an experience!

I was recently chatting with a couple of friends who were describing one of their acquaintances. They described him as “Metrosexual” — which left me puzzled.

I asked them what that meant (feeling very old and out-of-it because I had to ask). And this was the reply…

You know, the kind of guy who is so polished, so well-groomed and fashion conscious that you would almost think he was gay, but he’s not. They further explained that this was like someone who had been revamped by “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” but he had never needed the help because he did it solo, and he had perfected it.

They said the guy was really impressive in other areas too… he’s smart, he does well in his career, etc., etc.

And then one of the two made a single comment about his single unseemly trait, and I can’t help but share how that conversation snippet played out…

She: “Yeah, but he’s a bigot, isn’t he?”
He: “No, honey, he’s a Republican.”
She: “Oh yeah, that’s what I was thinking. I knew there was something about him that I really didn’t like.”

(I laughed until I nearly gasped for air.)

‘Nuff said.

This weekend, I was on “baby watch” — meaning I went up to my sister’s house and spent the weekend hanging out with her so my brother-in-law (a great guy who has been right beside Amy for the duration) could get out and go fishing and hiking and doing some solo stuff.

And, this weekend, there was a tragedy that touched far too close to home.

John (Amy’s hubby) is great. And, I know (even if they don’t) that it will be QUITE awhile before they get “solo time” again. Besides, I wanted to spend some time with her one-on-one (and a half).

We worked on a mobile for my new nephew, Ezra on Sunday. I only spent time working on the computer on Saturday. It was a great weekend. Ezra has proven to be a bit shy and although he was due the middle of last week, he’s not quite ready for his big debut. So Amy and John wait. I must say that Amy is considerably more patient and accepting of the whole “baby overdue” thing than I ever was. Both my boys were three weeks late, and Alex was three days late and I was a bear once I hit the “overdue” mark. Amy, as usual, is gracious and accepting. She has an older soul than I do, a wiser one.

On Sunday, we were listening to the radio and heard about the plane crash in Lexington.

I quickly did a scan of my brain to see if I remembered anyone I knew planning a trip, and thankfully, came up empty. Later, it was reported that there was only ONE survivor. Yet later, it was reported that those onboard that had perished had died from fire — not smoke. And my own horror at the prospect of burning alive came into full focus. I prayed that it had been quick for them. What else can you pray for?

I called Wayne (who had been roofing at his father’s over the weekend) to tell him to take a different route to a friend’s house that he was planning to visit Sunday afternoon. It was “gaming day” with the D&D guys. I usually go too, but I was on baby watch.

Wayne had spent the night at his brother’s house and had already heard about the crash. He also knew that Versailles Road had already been reopened. What he didn’t know (at that point) was that he knew people who were on the plane.

When he got to gaming, one of his friends who used to work at Gall’s in Lexington told him that four of those onboard were from Galls. They were headed to help out with the Katrina efforts. One of them Wayne knew fairly well, another… quite well. One of the ladies was someone that Wayne admired and considered a close friend. She was also the last woman that he asked out before he and I started dating. They had remained friends through the duration of his employment at Galls.

Needless to say, he was in a blue-gray funk all day. We talked about it at length last night. You know, there’s really nothing you can say when your spouse loses a friend — especially when the loss is so unexpected, so violent, so horrible.

All I can do is say a prayer for her and all those on the plane with her. All I can do is wonder, if Wayne hadn’t quit working there to work closer to home… would HE have been one of those on the plane? All I can do is shudder and realize, once again, how fragile, how temporary and how fleeting life really is… and try to be more thankful of each day, each moment, each opportunity I have to live with and enjoy family, friends and those that touch my life in a positive way.

So you are bored with the gazillion different shades and hues of colors available in your current palette? Want something more exciting than flat colors and limiting reality? Give this new I/O brush a spin!

Originally designed as a learning tool for children, this new device may well become a cutting edge tool for a whole new breed of design studies.

Want to know more? Read on…

You can visit the website on the I/O Brush learning tool, or you can see the I/O brush in action and meet the inventor Kimiko Ryokai of MIT Media Lab.

I love black, green and purple. But after nearly four years of black backgrounds, even I was getting a little weary. Yeah, I know… you aren’t supposed to use such dark backgrounds. It was a rule I knowingly broke. But, calling a decision “artistic license” can only go so far.

So, it was time for a change. I wanted to lighten, brighten and simplify my websites (my virtual world) in the same way I seek to lighten and brighten and simplify my physical world. So, this process began some time back, and it’s still underway… but it’s much closer now.

This blog is almost exactly like I want it to be, and WickedMobility.com (content now added to WickedBlog) is getting closer as well… but I’m still working on the concept over at WickedWordCraft. That one may be a work in progress for quite some time.

I always try to give Wicked a face-life or a new feature or something cool once a year — near the anniversary of it’s creation — which coincidentally is in October. And I hope to have the work complete sometime in September this year. It would be so nice to be ahead of schedule for a change!

So far, the feedback on the new look has been quite positive, and I find it easier to read my navigation links.

Now, to finish up the graphics and clean house with the navigation to make it easier to find what you want. That has become quite a chore as these sites have grown. With sites this large, it’s become essential to use the archiving feature and the advanced search option to help my visitors find what they need.

As always, any suggestions from my readers and visitors are appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

Last night, my son needed to do a bit of research for a book — written between 1865 and 1911 about American History. It could not be a novel. And, we found an interesting looking book on the Project Gutenberg site which met his criteria and which subsequently spawned my blog about that site yesterday. (I simply adore all those thousands of free ebooks. The site fascinates me!)

But I digress…

He came in this morning and asked if there was any way to load that ebook onto his iPod so he could take it to school and begin reading without lugging his laptop. I told him that I’d seen instructions on the Internet on how to do that, and that he should go pull a search and see what he could find.

Derrick is pretty darn good at Internet searches at this point, and he came back a few moments later with the exact site I’d seen several months ago.
I’d never taken the time to test the site, so we did so this morning. In a matter of about 5 minutes, he had the complete ebook uploaded to his iPod and was quite pleased with the result.

If you want to try it, visit: http://www.ipod-notes.com/ and follow the directions. I’ll warn you that a text file MEANS a text file (he and I were both trying it and he tried to use a .doc file — so his zip didn’t work).

It’s quick. It’s easy. And…. it’s free!

Enjoy.

The Project Gutenberg site is now offering a free CD or DVD size download of eBooks. And, WHAT a collection it is. The ISO CD/DVD image (over 14 Megs of Information, BTW) has over 9000 books on the DVD portion and the top 600 books on the CD collection.

This is one of my favorite online ebook resources. When I retire… I’ll probably volunteer for this site and others like it to help swell the virtual stacks of ebooks available free online!

In the meantime… (more…)

I’ve said for several years that I plan to retire when I reach 52. Today, I stumbled across a website that allowed you to customize a countdown clock.  (www.TimeandDate.com) By doing so, I got some pretty depressing news… I have exactly 4158 days to do all the things I want to do before retiring. That’s 99804 hours.

Now, why do I torture myself with such information? Because my days have been zooming past my head at an alarming velocity lately. Because I always seem to be behind on my personally demanding schedule (the one I set for myself with unreachable goals and then kick myself when I don’t make the goals).

Several of the things I’d planned to do this year have now been accomplished. And they are important things. Many other goals have experienced serious progress. However, being the Type A that I am, only those still languishing and lagging behind capture my attention. Those are the ones that I fret over. So, I had hoped that logging this countdown would make it appear farther in the future than 12 years seems.

It didn’t.

I have so much I want to do before my retirement. Now, I know that retirement isn’t the same for me that it is for others. Right now, I can’t imagine NOT working. I love what I do, which is a blessing — a serious blessing. And leaving something you love, well, it’s not really that appealing. So, I guess this date is more of a date to have enough money socked away so I don’t HAVE to work anymore. To have the cabin and the farm finished up. To have the kids raised. To have met the bulk of my obligations, so I can do as I please — whether that’s work or play or travel or absolutely nothing. I want to be able to play with grandchildren at that point, to show them things and do things that their parents will be too busy to do — like I’m too busy to do with my own kids now, because I’m working and running a business and jugging the needs of so many people other than myself.

I’m feeling the need to slow down some. I’ve been working toward that feverishly — kind of an oxymoron, huh? Or maybe it’s just moronic. But I want to learn to relax more, enjoy and TAKE more free time. But life seems so short, there’s so much I want to learn, to do, to experience. And, although I admire the Zen philosophy and someday hope to adopt a more “Buddhist” approach to my outlook on life, that’s not a reality for me right now… especially not today.

So I do this countdown timer to make myself feel better.

It just added more pressure. Now I can see this date as DAYS instead of years. And it’s just barely over 4000. And unlike larger numbers with more zeros, this number is quite comprehensible. I can relate to 4000. It’s a real number. It’s something I’ve worked with before and I understand it. (Unlike millions and billions which I understand academically, but never can relate to on a personal level). This is thousands… four of them.

Ever since I was little (and I mean REALLY little) I’ve thought I’d die when I was 64. I dunno why, it’s just like I’ve always known it. Now, at my ADVANCED age of 40, I certainly hope I’ve seriously underestimated my lifespan. But, for the sake of argument, if that’s true, I have a dozen years before retirement and a dozen more years of retirement before the grave (if my “feeling” on lifespan proves to be true). And I become all morose.

I think I’m going to have a crisis now.

Then, I’m going to get back to work and try to make enough progress that I feel better. Or at least get involved enough in a project that I can’t possibly fixate on my mortality any more today.

Ok, I don’t have this… yet… but I’m seriously salivating!

This too-cool for words customized case for my little iPod Video is impressive. Want a case that you can make any color you like? Want a matching or contrasting band? Want a cool picture or graphic in the center? Want a screen protector too? Here ya go!

Take a peek …

Customized iPod Case from iFrogz.com.

I tried my own virtual tour with an electric green band around a bold purple case with a cool inset… now if only they offered a graphic upload for my logo! Ahhhhh…

My ex used to tell me that life “came easy” for me. He said I didn’t understand the difficulties he had. Then, at the tender age of 19, I believed him. I figured everyone worked as hard as I did and that I just got alot of lucky breaks. So, for awhile, I felt sorry for him.

Then I started paying attention…and what I learned then has served me ever since. It serves me in life and it serves me in business. And the path to successful business is pretty simple… once you grasp one little trick. Let me explain… (more…)

The good folks at Motion Computing offer several keyboard options for the LE1600 Tablet PC that I use… but I really like my own solution. I was at Best Buy the other day and noticed that they had some pretty cool new keyboards. Since I wear out a keyboard about once a year… yes I said WEAR OUT a keyboard… it was time for me to look for the next victim.

I tend to type the numbers and letters right off the key faces. My last keyboard, an ergonomic type from Microsoft, lasted longer than most because they keys were imprinted rather than just “painted on” like most are.

But, I wanted a wireless option. And, I have difficult with most wireless keyboards because I out-type them and that causes the little things to go into a buffer zone wherin I have to sit and wait for my keyboard to catch up so I can see where I am. I recently bought a cheap option for under $30 at Walmart, but it didn’t keep up and it kept tying up my program waiting for it.

But, there was this pretty new model at Best Buy… and although I wasn’t too hot on the keyboard in the beginning, I fell in love the first time I wrapped my right hand around the mouse. It fit me like a glove. Now I will say it’s not a good option for lefties — it’s custom-fitted for a right hand — but if you are right handed and you like a full featured mouse and a more-than-full-featured keyboard, and you want to go wireless… this is your answer.
The keyboard is the Logitech Wireless Bluetooth Desktop MX 5000 Laser and it rocks!

I’ve only had mine for a couple weeks, and I use it when I convert my Tablet into my primary computer (I use pen and inking technology when I’m on the road to keep my load light). But I must say I’m impressed so far.

There is still a bit of lag on typing, but not as much as I’ve seen with other wireless keyboards. And, unlike others, this one catches up pretty quickly and I don’t have to stop and wait on it. It will catch up in a burst whether I keep typing or not. There are features I’ve not even touched yet, but I can say that I like the quick launch keys and the media keys.

If I’m rocking out, blowing off some steam and blogging when a client calls, all I have to do is push the onboard “mute” button or hit the “play/pause” button to have immediate silence to answer the phone like a professional. No more fumbling around to try to shut things down, I merely hit the button while reaching for the phone with the other hand. The digital display is pretty cool too, although I’m not sure I’ll ever use it to full potential.

All that said about the keyboard… the most amazing thing about this desktop set is the mouse. It’s pure silk. It fits like it was made for my hand and it offers advanced tilt-wheel technology. It’s rechargeable (when I remember to dock it at night) and carries a good long charge (for when I forget to dock it at night). The battery indicator is on top, which makes it easy to prevent a low power surprise in the middle of a project. And the laser is pin-point accurate — better than any mouse tracking I’ve ever seen. And… it doesn’t seem to care what surface I use — even highly reflective surfaces work fine.

I had nearly resigned myself to a mousepad again — and I despise those little things. But with this new mouse, I’m mouse-pad-free and intend to stay that way. I don’t need any additional clutter on my desk.

So, if you decide you need a new mouse and keyboard, try the Logitech Cordless Bluetooth Desktop MX 5000 Laser . You’ll probably love it as much as I do. Use that link and you can order from Amazon and save about $40 on the price. I had to pay $150 for mine at Best Buy. That’s what I get for impulse buying instead of doing my usual research and price search. But, you can take advantage of my pricing hind-sight, and the current sale and mail in rebate… if you hurry.

First of all, let me establish that I am NOT a quitter. Frankly, I’m, too darn stubborn to give up at all… much less to do so easily. Now, with that said, I’ve been working with the new office 2007 for A couple months now. It crashes alot, and has several issues, but overall, I like, it. (At least up to the point when I tried to get Business Contact Manager to work)

Now, after two days of hell, I decided to keep two systems running – one with Office 2003 on my server-desktop and one with 2007 on my Tablet PC. At least this way, I reasoned, I could still use my Accounting program to get my billing out (I use SBA 2006) I gave up QuickBooks last year because, well, I hated it. I hated the double entry between my timer and my books, the extra hassles and the constant “gouges” from Intuit to upgrade. I decided to go with Microsoft to get all things in one place. I assumed that software that advertised seamless integration with it’s own programs would be telling the truth.

But I digress…

The fact is, I wasted yet another day of my life trying to get the BCM database to launch and I resent the hours spent on it. I resent the time researching… but most of all, I resent that I didn’t find a solution. I resent that today’s exercises in futility have made me feel like a failure and a quitter. because it’s now past 10:30 pm… and I quit! (At least for today.)

(I also hate when my seeking in the mobile arena knocks the wind out of my sails… especially during the weekend.)

Personally, I think this is a cool concept, but not realistic. Just the same, it is uber portable, so I thought I’d share…For a peek at pen-sized computer and peripherals.

Having already tried out the virtual keyboard and found it lacking …this concept is only attractive to me as a novelty. But, it’s still pretty amazing, isn’t it?

If you want to read a good, old fashioned book — complete with sepia pages and pencil-marked book numbers from old library systems…but you are often on the road and simply can’t carry any more weight than you currently do…

I have a great solution!

There’s a website that permits you to view full color books (including nice lithograph illustrations) on your Tablet PC or laptop… You just push a button and the pages turn just like the old fashioned kind of books… not the same “scrolling” function you see in most ebook readers.http://www.openlibrary.org/

Their selection is still rather limited, but you could always volunteer to scan in and upload some of the old classics you currently have, or you could do a recording of the reading of any of the books they don’t already have with an audio-option.

Nice, huh? Even nicer if you are trying to live in a small space.

And another great book and story site is: http://www.fairytalescollection.com/

If only I had found this kind of resource way back in 1988, when I did my undergraduate thesis on fairytales!

I haven’t beaten the blogging drum in awhile, at least not publically. Of course I believe in blogging. It works for me, it works for others.

Like you, many of my clients come from referrals. The rest are a result of reading my articles and my blogs. It’s that simple. I preach blogging. I “walk the talk” of blogging. I do it and I encourage (and even coerce) my clients to follow suit.

I’m a believer, and I have a story to tell about a client of my own who is a recent convert. (more…)

According to a Yahoo! News report, Palm will be unveiling a new Treo product in the UK next month. In an attempt to better compete with a slew (my term, not Yahoo’s) of new devices with a wide range of impressive offerings, Palm is expected to up the ante a bit.

I’ve moved away from the Treo device since I purchased my Tablet PC, but I’m anxious to see what the new release will offer. I think I became disenchanted when the Treo went “backwards” in screen resolution in order to run a Windows Mobile operating system.

Geek that I am, it made them loose “tech” face to me.

Want to read the Yahoo! article? Read on!

Go here to read the whole article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060818/tc_nm/palm_treo_dc .

Many of my family and friends don’t understand why I pay more for organic foods. I just don’t want all those extra chemicals in my body. The entire family was organic for awhile, but my husband and the children didn’t want to be JUST organic, so they have re-joined the mainstream. I have not. I avoid food that isn’t chemical free, and when I find myself in a situation where I must eat what’s not organic, I select those items which involve the fewest pesticides, additives and other chemicals.

People who have been to the store with me are often amazed that I’ll spend so much for a dozen eggs in order to get free-range, cage free, no antibiotic-laden eggs. They also don’t understand why I pay so much per pound for the small amount of meat that I do still consume. I only buy from farmers dedicated to animal well-being and those who don’t use preventative antibiotics and chemical laden food supplies for their herds, flocks, etc. I prefer grass-fed and free-range. I’m not a zealot. I love meat. But I believe that quality of life should be a priority and the end of life — all life — should be as humane as possible. Period.

I just found a video on the meat industry that helps me to explain my views — not only from a health standpoint, but also from a humane standpoint. If you want to view the video, be forewarned that it’s graphic and unsettling. With that said… (more…)

In their quest to improve the handwriting recognition of their software products, Evernote has opened up the collection of handwriting samples to the general public.

I submitted my own a few days ago, and got my acceptance and the key to download my free software this afternoon!

Now that I know it’s all legit and they are still turning this around… I thought I’d share it with others.

So, if you want to get your own handwriting software package (you have your option of two), read on…

Go to the Evernote.com site: http://www.evernote.com/pub/training/

Follow the directions and write the sentences, scan or take a good digital image (like I did with my cool little camera) and send it to the company. If you are accepted, they will send you a link like they sent me.

Now, don’t let lousy handwriting deter you… after all, they accepted mine! (and it’s like chicken-scratches… made by a drunken chicken… you get the idea)

Dell (one of my favorite computer companies) has just announced the largest recall in history… the Sony lithium batteries batteries have been reported to burst into flames, according to recent reports (some onboard planes).

So if you are using a Dell Laptop, you may want to pull the battery and take a peek at the brand. If it’s a Sony, or if you are unsure, you may want to pull it out and use the powercord only until Dell contacts you or you can contact them. Try the website first (www.Dell.com).

If you would like, you can read a NY Times article on this recall.

Note: Dell is not the only manufacturer that uses Sony batteries. So
you may want to check the battery in any portable computer and do a bit
of research on the model your machine uses.

Ok, I’ll admit a bit of prejudice… but once you see the photos, you will too!

His name? Oliver. I think we are gonna call him “Ollie” — and he’s the cutest little thing. He looks like a stuffed animal or an animation… not like something real. So, when he’s on my finger, it makes me giggle because he IS real.

Now, if only he would STAY this size and not grow up! Like all babies, he’s alot cuter now than he will be when he looks like his “big” daddy — who maybe weighs 6 ounces or so.