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!