July 29, 2010

I was looking for something to update this blog with and decided to tell the world I have weeds in my mulch. But then I went to Google Images to find a good picture of [weeds] and got something that I should have known I would have seen.

weeds

Got writers block - sorry.

On July 12th, I ordered basic Woot Off Lights from Woot because I was bored. I ordered them for $8, including shipping. Today, my shipment arrived and the box was pretty big.

I opened it up and found over a $100 worth of stuff. That includes a $99 USB turntable, some toy cars, a shopping bag and the Woot-Off lights, of course.

I decided to see why I got them and according to the listing I was a winner cause my order number's last digit matched the last integer digit of the final Dow Jones Industrial Average at the close of business Monday, July 12, 2010.

Lucky me!

Here are some pictures:

Special Woot Crap

Special Woot Crap

Special Woot Crap

I find myself using the Let Me Google That For You web site at lmgtfy.com much more often these days.

If you don't know what it is, um, click here.

Let Me Google That For You

adiumI am a heavy IM user, heavy. I am also a heavy user of other things and as you know, I am crazy when it comes to efficiency on the computer and in general, in life.

So for those of you who have my AIM handle (I don't publicize it), read up.

  • Do not IM me asking if I am there.
  • Do not IM me asking me if you can ask me a question.
  • Do not IM me saying "Hey" or "Hi" looking to see if I am here

I think you get the point.

If you have a question, just IM me the question. It saves a step.

I know it might be rude, but IM is meant to be short and sweet. So no formalities, just get to the point.

Thanks!

I was checking out the Siddur Map on the iPhone Siddur today and noticed that it was steadily climbing. During the time Israel was using it for Maariv tonight, Tisha B'av, there was close to 1,000 users using it at the same time.

I wonder if it will spike up to well beyond that number tonight?

iPhone Siddur Map

It was spiking up to over 875 at one point, and then I received a phone call and stopped checking. It is now back down to about 600. Maybe it reached 1,000, I am not sure. But maybe it will blow past 1k tonight.

It is so cool to see so many people using this product at once. Most iPhone Apps are use it, get bored of it, never use it again. This app, people use every day, a few times a day! So proud to be a part of it.

Meanwhile, did you know English for Sefard is out?

EavesdroppingI wish there was a way to eavesdrop on typing.

I am on the phone with an AT&T support representative and they are typing "notes" in my account. I can hear the typing loud and clear, but really have no idea what they are trying.

I wish there was a way I can decipher the typing pattern to figure out what this person is typing.

I always wonder if they mess up the notes and then ruin the ticket history or not.

I tweeted this and received a response that has a good point:

@rustybrick Just like a doctor writing in your chart. What are you writing about me?!less than a minute ago via Tweetie for Mac

Last night, 38 days after first ordering them, my new license plates arrived. Yea, they are ugly but I likethem. Honestly, it was a surprise, because when I called to find out the status, I was told it would take a total of 8 weeks. It came after 5 weeks and 4 days. Yea, 1 week and 4 days longer than originally expected, but still 3 weeks and 3 days earlier than later expected.

Here are two pictures.... Well, why do people blur out plates? I mean, these are personalized, and I already told you they were coming:

RustyCar Plates

RustyCar Plates

I think they look good on my car - I suspect most won't agree.

200px-Apple_Computer_Logo_rainbowToday is an exciting day. Not as exciting as getting the iPhone 4, then dropping it and getting a second one but still exciting.

I got my iPhone black bumper today, so I am less concerned about breaking it. But more importantly, I got a skin that turns the back of my iPhone 4 white and sticks a vintage colorful Apple logo on it. When I saw it on TUAW, I had to recreate it. Here are pictures:

Vintage Apple Logo Skin for iPhone 4

Vintage Apple Logo Skin for iPhone 4

I left the front alone:

Vintage Apple Logo Skin for iPhone 4

The nice thing about the Gelaskins is they seem to come off, even off the InvisibleShield I have on my phone. So when I get bored, I can take it off.

To recreate this yourself, you can download my PSD file and to sharpen it up grab the Apple logo from Wikipedia. Note, you may want to also change the name to yours. :)

I was driving back to the office today and I was driving behind a hearse, you know, a car that drives a coffin from one location (often a church) to the cemetery. It felt awkward.

There was no body in the back, at least, it didn't appear to be so. I don't think it was being used for a transport. :) There would have been cars with lights on, and a long line of cars. It was still a bit awkward.

Casket Car

I see Wikipedia has a picture of a motorcycle hearse. Interesting...

Time goes byMany people who know me, know that I am obsessed with time. This means, being on time for calls, never being late for meeting and so on. I think it is due to me being crazed for achieving optimal efficiency, which is often helped through computers and a strict routine.

So when I speak with a prospect, client or even a personal friend who has no respect for time - my time or their own time - it bugs me.

This happens often enough, but this afternoon I had someone call me to have a meeting. Let me take you back a bit to give you more history.

I don't remember exactly when, but maybe a month ago, we spoke on the phone and told him, to give him a price, I need to meet. He then said he will call me, but hopes to call me next week to set something up. That flew by. Yesterday, around noon, I get a call from this guy. I answer, he said, without telling me who he is - what time are you around until today. I said, who is this? He gives me his name. I said, what is this in reference to? He reminds me. So I tell him about 6pm.

Fast forward to today. Yea, he never showed or called after that yesterday. But today, he calls the office. Someone else answers. He talks to whomever answered like he would be aware of a meeting between myself and him, which never happened. The guy who answered put him on hold, spoke to me and then schedule a meeting at 3pm today.

I figured he wouldn't be here at 3, based on our past conversations. So I told him that it can't go past 4pm.

The guy shows up at 3:45pm. I decide to talk to him until 4pm and then say goodbye.

This potentially can be a large project but do I want to get involved, knowing that we conflict on how we value or view time?

Update: Seems like nowadays most people reply to me via Twitter (which kills my comments):

@rustybrick don't do it. I've had the same exact experience with contractors and regretted every time.less than a minute ago via Seesmic

@rustybrick no, it's definitely not too much to ask. If they don't value your time now, imagine when/if they were a client.less than a minute ago via TwitKit

@rustybrick that guy either has no respect for you or is a total flake and the project will be a disaster - RUN!less than a minute ago via Power Twitter

@rustybrick You can't work with dorks maintaining such an attitude. You won't be happy, he won't be happy, it'll cost both of you money. Runless than a minute ago via web

RT @SebastianX: @rustybrick You can't work with dorks maintaining such an attitude. You won't be happy, he won't be happy, it'll cost both..less than a minute ago via TweetDeck

@rustybrick: People often have very different priorities but differences in attitude don't preclude being good at what's really important.less than a minute ago via Echofon

@rustybrick I'd say no too. I'm a stickler 4 punctuality. It's a mark of how much you value the other person's time.less than a minute ago via HootSuite