Brain Drain

John McCain Owns VoteForTheMILF.com? | GOVGAP

I guess his campaign is learning how to use the Tubes. I guess this makes sense for buying up all the URLs before your enemies do. But, I don’t get the secrecy about it.

Lately I have have been hooked on the video podcasts from the Onion. I watch A LOT of news and they have this down. I have been hooked on these videos lately. There are just too many to many favorite videos to mention. So just check them all out here: http://www.theonion.com/content/video/

I went a couple of weeks ago to Avenue Q Broadway show with Sarah and David. It was very entertaining and I would highly recommend seeing if you have a chance. It was intended for adults. It got me reminiscing about my early childhood watching the Muppets and Sesame Street. I always figured out at an early age the mechanics of trying to operate these muppets. It was interesting to see it live in this play. Here is how you can do it:

HowStuffWorks “How Muppets Work”

I love ironic t-shirts. It is supposed to be one of the hallmarks of a “hipster”. However, these shirts are ironic for other reasons.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0716081shirts1.html

For a long time I have been trying to find alternative solutions for organizing myself. Sure, I had a .mac account for a couple years when they first launched. However, I found the features were lacking for the annual price of $99. I have been struggling a little bit to find other “free” solutions. I had mostly been satisfied with the alternatives I came up with til now.

My world involves a few different macs. However, I have always wanted to be able to have my info sync and always be available online if I wasn’t around one of my macs.

Bookmarks Syncing:
I use foxmarks extension for Firefox. This syncs on all versions of FF I use. Plus, it has an online app I can use if needed. I used to use the googlesync extension in FF2. Unfortunately, they no longer sync it. Del.icio.us just didn’t work for me… but, that is another option.

Addressbook syncing:
I have been using Plaxo for over a year. It’s free offerings have worked pretty close to flawlessly for me. I have tried to sync google calendaring to little luck. So, it is used for strictly address book syncing. It has apps you can install on every mac (or, windows) without thinking about it. It also has a web interface if needed.

Plus, it does allow you to send eCards and they send out birthday reminders. The eCard feature was part of .mac. But, it is no more.

Emails:
I just use my IMAP account with my personal hosted site. These work just fine and have all features that are part of the Mac option.

Calendar syncing:
I found a great hosted opensource Caldev solution called ChandlerHub I was excited because it was a solution I have been looking for some time. Here is how you set-up. It allows me to sync my calendars between my machines and online.

This has been allusive for some time. I have tried some of the solutions out there like (busysync, spanning sync). Mac apps that cost money and sync the iCal app with google calendars. However, the results were mixed. I had syncing issues and it would not work like I hoped. So, for a long time I tried to work between iCal and Google. But, it was really clumsy. I really wish this would have worked.

File syncing:
This is something that could be useful. I currently just use my server for this. It really isn’t something that I really NEED. But, it would be nice to have and share some files with people and be able to access easily. It is kind of like the iDisk utility. I think DropBox app has some potential. I am waiting for it to come out to test.

RSS feeds:
I use a free mac program called NetNewsWire. I have been very pleased by this solution to read all the sites I visit much quicker. I don’t have to take the time to visit them all. Using this in tandam with the free service from newsgator allows me to sync and view my saved feeds anywhere.

I am really happy with these solutions. I am also happy with the price And the great news is with these solutions I am also able to sync all this info on my iPhone + Apps. Now, these solutions don’t “push” content wirelessly to my iPhone like myMobile and MS Exchange. But, I think these solutions are a good alternative. I sync and charge my iPhone everyday. Plus, if I really need this info I can get it online. I hope this helps others out there trying to do the same.

I know many of you out there think I am a little bit of a nut sometimes about my conspiracy theories. But, the truth of the matter is I see a lot of media information that goes underneath the “radar”, and doesn’t get reported on. This example actually got some media attention.

July 10, 2008, 9:16 am

In an Iranian Image, a Missile Too Many

By Mike Nizza and Patrick Witty

In
the four-missile version of the image released Wednesday by Sepah News,
the media arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, two major sections
(encircled in red) appear to closely replicate other sections
(encircled in orange). (Illustration by The New York Times; photo via
Agence France-Presse)

Read more

This is a pretty interesting idea. It is something the Cacophony Society would do. I know I had a blast at the SantaCon.