Online stopwatch
Posted in Technicalon Aug 26, 2010
The other day, I had a spare few minutes and a need for stopwatch, so I wrote my own online stopwatch. You can find it at:
http://stopwatch.peargrove.com
I’ll be publishing it as a Google Chrome Web app once that goes public.
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- Tags: Google Chrome, Javascript, web sites
The weirdest thing I ever saw on television
Posted in Funnyon Aug 20, 2010
The other night I was watching some TV where an infomercial came on for a kitchen gadget called the Slap Chop. Except that it didn’t start like a typical infomercial, it started with a 3 minute rap remix of the infomercial. I had never seen anything like it. It was so weird, that it kind of had me a little freaked out. Anyway, here is a You Tube video of the commercial, just as it appeared on TV.
I was completely freaked out by the large dancing bunny, but I thought that the old lady giggle was hilarious.
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- Tags: tv, Video, YouTube
I want a lot actually
Posted in Funnyon Aug 19, 2010
I’m not really the type to blog about assuming movies, but this is one of my favorites, and it promotes one of my favorite products.
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- Tags: ice cream, Video
Binary message in Tron iPhone app
Posted in Technicalon Jul 23, 2010
Today I was downloading the Disney Tron app for the iPhone (or in my case, the iPod touch). I noticed on the App Store page for the app, there was a bunch of binary code looking like “0101011101100101011011…”. So I decided to decode the binary code assuming 8-bit ASCII encoding, and I found this message:
Welcome to ComiTRON. iPhone Programs please allow Push Notifications. Flynn Lives!
I guess they are making a reference to ComiCon. Before spending the time to write a quick program to decode the message, I did a few Google searches trying to see if someone else decoded it and posted the results. Some people said that the message was, “This TRON app will evolve. ComiTRON coming 072210.” It probably was, but it probably recently changed and I don’t know if anyone has bothered to post a more recent decoding.
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- Tags: movies
Hulu Plus is more of a minus
Posted in Businesson Jun 29, 2010
Recently, the popular on-line TV viewing site announced its Hulu Plus services which promise the following:
- View Hulu on various devices
- View more content
- Same load of advertising
You get all that, for $9.99 per month, every month.
I appreciate Hulu’s desire to better monetize its service, but I don’t think they are offering enough for $10/month. I might start considering it if the following were to be met:
- Charge only $5/month.
- Don’t show commercials.
- Make shows available on the same day they show on TV.
- Have a movie library that is as big as Netflix.
- Shows never expire.
- Provide off-line viewing of shows.
But really, I hate monthly subscription services. Appreciating Hulu’s desires to better monetize their service, I might instead suggest the following:
- Allow people to pay a buck to view an otherwise-not-available episode. Today, most shows will post their last 5 episodes for viewing. Instead, they should make all episodes available, but only the last 5 would be free. The rest would cost a buck to view.
- Distribute an iPhone app as a $10 paid app. The ability to use Hulu on devices should be a one-time fee, not a per month subscription.
I’m a big Hulu watcher, but at $10/month, I would rather have a Netflix subscription.
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- Tags: tv
11-year-old scout leader
Posted in Adventureson Jun 28, 2010
In an attempt to write a blog post in the month of June, 2010, I thought I would tell you briefly about my new assignment at church. I am now an 11-year-old scout leader, with about 5 scouts in the 11-year-old scout patrol.
This is a really fun assignment, because 11-year-olds are pretty fun to deal with. They like to be funny. They get excited about simple things. Mostly, they are pretty eager to learn without having the attitude of a teenager.
A couple of email reminders
Posted in Insightson May 5, 2010
Recently I saw an email which was sent out to an entire organization, but it was only meant for that organization’s leadership. What is bad, is that it contained some sensitive information which could embarrass some people. These mistakes can be hard to avoid, but it reminds me of three practices which should always be followed when writing emails.
1. Always use a meaningful subject. The incorrectly-addressed email had a subject of only “Hi.” It should have had a more appropriate title like, “Leadership Meeting Notes from April 20.” A meaningful subject helps the reader understand how urgently they should read the email.
2. Always address your audience at the beginning of the email. If you begin your email with, “Hi everyone…” as this email did, then everyone will think that the email is written to them. If you instead begin your email with, “Hey leadership committee…” then people know if they should be reading the email or not.
3. Avoid emailing confidential information. Emails are too easily forwarded and archived. Too many businesses and politicians have been burned by something that they emailed. Once you send an email, you loose full control over who sees it. It may be better to just say things in person.
- (1) Comment
- Tags: communications, Email
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