Projects

I've decided to start posting running projects that I am working on to this so I can track and review past projects, and maybe even help someone else out if they run into something similar that they need to work on. 
I have managed to obtain a lot of help from various forums and boards, which is incredibly useful.  Unfortunately, after my project, it can be hard to relocate those posts when someone else might have a similar problem.  So, I can point them to this blog instead and hopefully help them that way.  As a bonus, this is searchable too :)
I am behind on a few projects that have a few photos, but I think the first one will be replacing the knock sensor on our Subaru Forester.  It has quite a few miles on it, and from what I've found this isn't too out of the ordinary at this point.  Details to follow in the next post!

Jawbone 1

I have really enjoyed my Jawbone.  Even though my wife wasn't as pleased with the price initially, now after about 3 years and having used it extensively in various conditions, I have to say it really works well and hasn't disappointed me.  The only problem I have encountered with it has been primarily wind noise, but at the time i purchased the jawbone, wind was a problem with basically every headset I tried, so I can't complain to much about that.  The other problem was the fit of the earpiece, which has worked well enough for me to remain happy with the headset; admittedly I am a tinkerer.

In the course of tinkering and finally breaking one of the earpieces (the around the ear loop) I found, serendipitously, that the new jawbone icon earpieces fit on the Jawbone 1, and work fantastically!  It is held perfectly in my ear similar to the icon, and held nicely against my cheek.  In my opinion, it actually fits better with the new earpiece than the old one ever fit even with the best around the ear loop placement.  Also, since I wear glasses, this clearly works better avoiding the issue of overlapping my glasses arm altogether.
So, with some patient trying, the earpiece WILL fit on the Jawbone 1 and stay put.  Once you get it on there, you will find that the earpiece works well and stays right in your ear.

Google

Google offers so many great things... The more I use their applications, the more I find other things they've already thought of.  It feels like there has to be a catch, but I don't think there is.  A friend of mine was recently telling me about Google Voice and... it just seems to offer all the things that you might imagine the phone of the future to have.  Going somewhere? Forward the number.  Walking down the street but want to screen the incoming call?  Done.  Going off shift and want to forward your number to work/office? Done.  Screen particular calls?  Forward work only calls but keep personal calls coming to the cell??  Wow.
I think slowly this will move us all towards (or return to, in some ways) simply using a terminal that connects us to ... google.  In some ways, it's better: your data is probably safer, likely backed up multiple times (I'd wager 90% of you don't really regularly back up your data.. maybe some really important things you want to be sure to keep, but everything?) Then, accessing all of your "desktop" is basically just through connecting, with no reliance on a single computer.  I have a decent portion of this already, and it's really amazing.  I can open at work, access all my documents, close, and re-open at home, or an internet cafe, or on my phone! 
Some of you may have realized all of this already.  I once was a young man, playing with FidoNet, BBS's, and 300bps modems.  Somewhere in the middle, I slowed down to pursue other things; but to stand back occasionally and look at what we are capable of now compared to those days... it is really something.

Bowties

I was just reading recently that a man should be able to tie a bowtie. I was thinking to myself that I don't know how to do this. I do, strangely, own 1 bowtie (the real, untied kind) and so I dedicated a few minutes to learning how to do it.
The question that remains for me is, when is an appropriate time to wear a bowtie when not in a tuxedo? *IS* there an appropriate time to wear a bowtie if not in a tuxedo? I'm thinking that the answer is that there is not. Therefore, I probably will not. But at least I might retain this for some time when someone somewhere might need me to tie a bowtie for them. I will be ready.

Home again...

Looking forward to vacation next week... Daily Show, Colbert Report, Lattes and my Ladies... what could be better?

Music

I just recently was turned on to The Bad Plus... I like it. You should check it out. I found them because of Pandora.com, which is also great. I think I had heard of them a long time ago. Apparently they hail from the midwest, and have been friends for years, all went in different directions, and then reconvened... nice story.
I don't have much more to say presently. (Does anyone, really, on blogs?)
Check out the weather. Let's try to remember this if we ever start getting too nostalgic about Albany if we move from here, shall we?

Pour

Better? It's no rosette, but I think I'm getting the milk to the right consistency. Not bad, my pitcher has a pretty wide brim, too, so the pour is sort of wide, I can't decide if that makes a difference or not. Using the Francis Francis! X5 I think the steam wand "surfing" only gets you so far. It doesn't really get to foaming until the milk starts getting up to about 155 F or so. Is it me? Supposedly, you should be getting foam right from the start...

über-mini

I thought my car was small. I ran into (not literally, thankfully) this Smartcar in a parking lot recently. I wanted to get a better picture but the cars in the backround seemed perplexed with how to get around my car (even though there was a good 75 feet of clearance behind my car to the curb) I'm curious what this car is like on the highway? I love my mini; It is beautiful on the highway, very smooth actually, given the tight suspension that it has. I wonder what this car would be like? It seems like it would almost launch off of small bumps in the road instead of cruising over them. My mini's short wheelbase can give you a little jump in the seat on some roads little ups and downs, I'd imagine this car would be more like a motorcycle and give you a bit of a kick up in the air inside :) I don't know. Looks fun. They were from Canada it seems, I bet they were a good time, but they didn't come out while I was taking the picture so maybe someday they'll see this picture and smile.

No Smoking

Clearly, this sign is being heeded.
What I can't understand is how people can still smoke in this day and age, knowing what we know. Especially outside a hospital. Sometimes, wearing scrubs, occasionally even a white coat. I think that's just terrible. Please stop doing that, people.

The best at home?

Ahhh... home espresso. Look at that crema. I have to admit, this is the best whole bean espresso roast coffee I have found in Albany so far, and it is from The Daily Grind on Lark street. I was surfing around today, shirking work and working out, and found this awesome website. Now, this is taking your latte art to a new level. Anyways, while on the never-ending search for the best lattes, so far the best latte I have had has come from Uncommon Grounds in Saratoga, NY. Now, keep in mind, this is only post 3 for me, so the adventure has just begun, really. The folks up in Saratoga know how to do it right, and even gave me a very well done latte with a shamrock for St. Patrick's day.

Well done, lads!

Yes, it was a nice cup of joe. The latte art is just a nice finish, but suggests that they are actually paying attention to the espresso below, which overall made this one good cup of coffee. The subtle differences of this cup compared to the average cup. The coffee in the Albany location just doesn't quite measure up. My personal theory is that the folks in the Saratoga location are closer to the original owners/operators who give them some good teaching, or perhaps it is the atmosphere of Saratoga itself. Whatever the case, they definitely get a vote for some of the best in the upstate area so far. But stay tuned folks, more to come.