drum & bass nerd from jupiter2008-07-09T05:13:36Zhttp://daveyb.net/atom.aspxQuick Blog.fixtag:daveyb.net,2008-06-30:89473dfb-9d34-4bb6-a508-87dd65e1c8a2dvb2008-06-30T15:11:36Z2008-06-30T15:03:00Z a) Fix the thing. b) Destroy the thing.
Once I destroy the item, I get to take it apart and see what's inside.
In that spirit, I found this cool wired blog entry today that shows different cameras that are perfectly sawn in half. check it outttttt
]]>.nerdtag:daveyb.net,2008-06-27:94320529-6240-4be0-a517-95e589002b5bdvb2008-06-27T10:52:17Z2008-06-27T10:47:00ZHere's another great article. This one lists five reasons why the Large Hadron Collider that is being built isn't going to destroy the universe.
The great part is that if the designers are wrong about it, there won't be anyone to fire them. Well played, science.
]]>.nerdtag:daveyb.net,2008-06-27:ff487d17-e8c0-472a-9d20-01766428e9cfdvb2008-07-01T14:02:30Z2008-06-27T08:49:00ZScience article of the day (SAOTD)
It's a nice nerdy blog entry about the usage of constants in science, and some practical applications that you can do at home with a 100m radio telescope.
]]>.biftag:daveyb.net,2008-06-26:b3b0212d-14c7-4ce6-8f3b-f712a1ca6b1advb2008-06-26T15:58:29Z2008-06-26T15:19:00ZGoogle Toilet. (link goes to source)
Would you have the guts to press the 'Wand Cleaning' button?
]]>.defragtag:daveyb.net,2008-06-25:f3cc0ec1-01c7-46fd-b08d-681123fa30afdvb2008-06-25T16:52:43Z2008-06-25T16:47:00Z A gun that shoots stem cells!
]]>.helptag:daveyb.net,2008-06-24:e6aca9d1-5a63-438a-bdb1-c9dddb89c384dvb2008-06-24T14:21:45Z2008-06-24T14:08:00ZCrossloop have set me up with a few applications and gadgets that I'm pretty excited about. They've invited me to be an 'expert', and I'm happy to oblige.
You may notice something new in my sidebar. Using that 'I can Help!' link enables you to make arrangements with me for technical advice, or services. Tech support is a real interest of mine, and this gives me the ability to do a better job of it. I really like the reputation system that Crossloop has created, so that strangers in need can find trustworthy assistance from quality tech supporters, like myself.
Feel free to give the 'I can Help' link a try, should you ever need any kind of advice or assistance!
]]>.scamtag:daveyb.net,2008-06-23:f7abd081-adae-468c-baca-17ef4cc5dad4dvb2008-06-23T16:57:33Z2008-06-23T15:38:00ZAmazon.com and they are hilarious!!!
To the less technical people that read my blog, a word of warning. This is a perfect example of an attempt to milk people out of money. I'm not going to come out and say all expensive cabling is a scam. I will come out and say that all expensive DIGITAL cables are a scam.
A digital signal is very simple. You've probably heard that digital is just ones and zeros. To make it more clear, a ONE could represent any charge higher than 5 volts being read off the wire. A ZERO would represent any charge that is negative 5 (or more) volts. That's it. Positive charge, negative charge, etc.
Whenever confronted with a digital cable choice, always choose the cheapest one. If it doesn't work for you, then return it and get a more expensive one. Digital cables either work, or they don't. A better digital cable will never improve your sound or video quality.
[Consumer Awareness Note: Places like Futureshop/Best Buy intentionally do not carry less expensive branded cables. This is so their sales reps can only push the more expensive one, and tell you that it's what you need. The best place for consumers cables is ebay or tigerdirect. If you're a business, get an account at Lin Haw.]
Bonus Technology Fact: Often you are charged more for gold connectors, instead of the typical copper connector. What they won't tell you, is that gold actually conducts WORSE than copper. The bonus that a gold connector offers, is that they don't rust. When considering this, ask yourself when the last time something in your living room rusted. ]]>.liketag:daveyb.net,2008-06-23:51bf64ff-22ad-4275-b488-7b27953ce178dvb2008-06-23T12:20:41Z2008-06-23T12:14:00Z
'Things I like right now', made at wordle.net (I had trouble with FF3, but it worked fine with IE)
]]>.worktag:daveyb.net,2008-06-20:7d2afd68-8f25-4b09-b02a-c2a7a7d540c7dvb2008-06-20T09:50:53Z2008-06-20T08:51:00Z I've been doing top-tier tech support for a few years now. When I say 'top-tier', that means I've generally moved off of end-user support, and assist people on a design perspective. Generally the problems one runs across at this level, there is not a known fix for an issue, and one must be discovered or designed. I thought I'd make a list of things I've learned that make a tech support person better, and to that end, give everyone else a bit of an edge when trying to get the most out of a tech support person.
Tech support is not customer support. If the customer seeks consolation, they should contact a sales rep. It's not the job of tech support to apologize for every bug. It's generally a waste of energy to unload your frustrations on a tech support person, because they are limited in what they can do for you. It's the sales people that get the commissions, and are the ones that will bend over backwards to keep you happy.
Tech support deals with the product as it was designed, not as it 'should' have been designed. There are countless decisions that go into a products design, and a tech support persons role comes in after all of these decisions are made. Calling up the tech support person to complain that the application was programmed using ActiveX, when JAVA should have been used, is a waste of everyone's time.
Use Snag-it I make guides all the time, good ones with really nice screen shots, and hyperlinks. I used to laugh at Snag-it, cause it did a function that windows has included. I learned though, that using Snag-it can literally halve the time it takes to make a really nice user guide. Download it and learn the features. It even is fully functional for 30 days, and well worth the purchase after that.
Master as many remote desktop platforms as possible On my PC right now I have Crossloop, Remote Administrator, Remote Desktop, RealVNC, and LogMeIn. Learn when to use each one. With Crossloop, they don't have to go into their firewall to let you in, but they have to be at their PC. With LogMeIn you can find out all about what their system is running in the background without them knowing.
Know your manual If a customer calls for assistance with something that you know is in the manual, help them out, and let them know where in the manual the answer to their question is. People will learn to RTFM if you constantly call them on it.
When a customer starts the call with "Hey, can't you do X?".... that means they already did X, and are wondering why their product is broken.
Virtual PC 2007 This another must have if you're walking inexperienced people through complex steps. You install every operating systems into virtual PC's, and save snapshots of their states. Then when a customer calls up, and they're using Windows Vista, you load your Vista state in a window, and walk them through installing something, and then don't save your changes, and are ready for the next call.
Be friendly... Until you realize someone is trying to take advantage of you. Be clear and polite and say that you're not going to do something for someone, if you're not comfortable with it. There are people that will get you to do their job for you if you let them. There are people out there that want you to brain dump.
]]>.xwordtag:daveyb.net,2008-06-19:499348b9-e013-4434-a29d-661e745e7c73dvb2008-06-19T13:14:24Z2008-06-19T13:07:00ZNew York Times Crossword Puzzle. I'm hoping to one day be one of those people that can just rip through them.
Did you know that through the week, they get harder and harder? Monday's are the easiest, Friday and Saturday are really hard. I can do a Wednesday, but Thursday is a little too tough for me. They get quite cryptic.
Right now I just do the free ones offered by my iGoogle account, but they are old and dated, and you only get one a week. It's possible to subscribe to the New York Times online though, and then you get the virtual newspaper, and you can even work on crosswords with your friends together.
I put in some facts that I stole from wikipedia that help solve the puzzles:
Any time a clue contains an abbreviation, the answer will also be an abbreviation (e.g. M.D. org. = AMA).
Any time a clue is a statement ending in a question mark, the answer is a play on words.
Occasionally, midweek puzzles will require certain squares to be
filled in with multiple letters or a word, rather than one letter. This
word will be repeated throughout the puzzle, and will be hinted at in
another clue.
French- and Spanish-language answers appear several times a week,
often indicated by a French or Spanish city or personal name in the
clue (e.g. 'Friends of Pierre' = Amis).
Any time a clue is plural, the answer is also plural.
The tense of a clue is the same as the tense of its answer.
]]>.scamtag:daveyb.net,2008-06-18:c9fb6054-8578-417e-8c5f-46201f7e7dccdvb2008-06-18T13:59:57Z2008-06-18T13:57:00Z We knew we were moving out of the area after that time. We had a place lined up. We went into Planet Fitness (#401 3980 Shelbourne Street Victoria, BC), and discussed our situation with the clerk. He said that if we signed a contract, we would get a greatly reduced rate. He told us that if we moved somewhere, and there was no Planet Fitness location within range, we would be able to void our contract.
This is the problem. We provided the address that we were moving to, to the clerk. He looked it up in his system and confirmed that we would be able to break the contract once we moved, stating that there are 'No Planet Fitness locations in the area.'
We moved, and now they won't let us break the contract. We feel tricked and lied to. The manager at the location is unsympathetic and unwilling to even create some kind of compromise.
There is no way we can buy out the contract, or anything.
We were lied to and it is going to cost us over NINETEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS. ]]>.renardtag:daveyb.net,2008-06-17:bd95ffe1-1e91-4bcd-9c84-27ffea194d1fdvb2008-06-17T15:02:14Z2008-06-17T14:43:00Z I installed it and have taken it for a test spin. I like it very much.
The biggest improvements are on the back end, it's faster and more secure. Those things are less than exciting though. Single click bookmarking and single click RSS subscriptions are the features I'm freaking out about at the moment. You must download it immediately!!!!
FIREFOX GETS NINE JUPITERS!!! WTFFFFFFFF
[update: You can also 'resume' downloads! And you can find out the URL that files you have previously downloaded came from! And you can add 'tags' to your bookmarks for easy sorting and searching! And the font handling has been improved, and is easier on your eyes! Stop reading this and get it!!!!!] ]]>.mixtag:daveyb.net,2008-05-28:3efc00cc-df62-4d60-9ab8-f22ef0666c90dvb2008-05-28T09:07:00Z2008-05-28T07:00:00Z
For those not in the know, a gig at the Victoria Electronic Music Festival is the one to go for. I've played twice at it
already. Here's hoping for a third time. I hope you enjoy it! download *hiyaaah!*
length 53 minutes
Tracklist
zero tolerance - goes around calibre - thoughtless lomax & focus - 5 weeks alix perez - stray nu:tone - kitsch n synch johnny l - come here futurebound - dawn treader mr white - neon brookes brothers - f zero agent alvin - superhighway logistics - spotlight nu:tone - east to west martsman - 8 bit bouncer lynx - whistlestop cyantific - disconnected dj clart - the avenue high contrast - girls and boys commix - faceless (marcus intalex remix) calibre - trip it high contrast - kiss kiss bang bang (johnny l remix) high contrast - pink flamingos laos - 1990's logistics - wide lens evol intent - odd number dom and roland & shy fx - can't punish me on the run (dvb edit) metrik - your world f.u.k.t. - keep moving (soulmatic & octobass remix) jenna g - in love dj clipz - offline clipz & die - indian summer original sin - cheater cheater metalheadz - flute tune friction & nu balance - robocop (taxman remix) dj clipz - ugly total science - catch up technicolour - good news green high contrast - racing green dj clipz - hand grenade rebel mc - junglist (serial killer vip mix) futurebound - american beauty ]]>.backtag:daveyb.net,2008-05-27:2b6a946e-3238-4018-896e-0787e4f46e00dvb2008-05-27T14:57:09Z2008-05-27T14:44:00Z Including:
- Pictures of my cats kissing - How to turn tartar sauce back into relish and mayonaise - Fifteen ways to please your man. (spoiler: they all involve making him a sandwich) - The terrible secret of outer space - Which one of my friends is 'King of the Dicks' - Recipe: The breakfast corndog - My new party sensation that's sweeping the province: Reverse Kareoke! - A new drum and bass mix
Until then, Internet...
dvb awaaaayyyyy!
]]>.how2tag:daveyb.net,2008-05-13:9e7e1f83-86c3-4d66-8ec2-2e6fe1a14774dvb2008-05-13T20:36:14Z2008-05-13T17:38:00Z Using a microwave and a polaroid picture, calculate the speed of light.
Microwaves don't cook your food evenly because the 'waves' heat the food in specific places based on it's location in the microwave.
Take a look at the post below. The microwaves heat the polaroid picture in a consistent pattern. Without having proper scale to measure, please assume that the centres of the burned chemicals are 6cm apart. Each burn represents half of the wave, making the full wave cycle 12cm long. Each wave cycle is called a hertz (Hz).
Turn around your microwave. It will say the frequency that it operates at. For this example, let's say 2450MHz
Now for a rule
Velocity = Frequency x Wavelength so... Velocity = 2450 MHz x 0.12m so... Velocity = 2.9 x 10^8 metres per second
]]>.howtag:daveyb.net,2008-05-13:729af06b-5ab8-41a7-a98f-b8f4edf774dbdvb2008-05-13T20:40:57Z2008-05-13T11:16:00Z Properly microwave a polaroid picture.
The trick to microwaving a polaroid is to do it right after taking the picture, before it develops. You want to microwave it for EXACTLY six seconds. Any longer and YOU WILL BURN DOWN YOUR HOUSE.
The payoff, though, is huge. Check out this puppy:
Please note: NEVER shake a polaroid picture. It will ruin the development!
]]>.solartag:daveyb.net,2008-05-09:4066df14-4677-4147-807c-518c28fd72cbdvb2008-05-09T10:40:54Z2008-05-09T10:25:00Z Mercury - I like Mercury. It's all up in the suns spotty face, and yet there is still ice on it. Mercury is like the friend that I don't call, but that's OK, cause we're tight.
Venus - According to the 80's, this is where women are from. And what's the deal with airplane food? On February 20, 1992, shrimp tainted with cholera was served on Air Argentina, flight 386. An elderly passenger died and several other passengers fell ill. I bet you thought I was going to say a joke.
Earth - This is the bar that I compare all other planets to, mainly because I've spent the majority of my life here. Sometimes I think it's going to be cold, and so I over dress, and then I'm too warm. Also, our oceans are dying so we should eat all the fish while we can.
Mars - Earth Jr. The way things are going, one day, it's arid surface might be an improvement. I see it as a stepping stone, we setup a little base on Mars, then we fly right past Saturn, to Jupiter, where we'll have a big party.
Saturn - A stupid idiot of a planet that nobody would pay any attention to if it weren't for that ring around it. The cosmic equivalent to a goat wearing a hat. In addition to it's rings, it has over sixty moons. Clearly, Saturn is one insecure ball of gas. Saturn's moon, Titan, is cool though. It's the only moon in our solar system with a real atmosphere.
Jupiter - 'Hilary! Get in here! You have to see what's on TV right now!' I love making her sprint in to see some TV spot featuring my boy. I hope that one day she appreciates it as well. It's no secret that I'm Jupiter's biggest fanboy. If you add up the mass of all other planets, Jupiter is still 2.5 times more massive. Visually, no other planet compares. Don't even get me started on that red spot. I'm going to stop gushing now, as I'm inspired to write a proper entry about my superstar giant.
Uranus - I'm much too high-brow to do silly Uranus jokes, even though I still laugh when Alex Trebek says it. Uranus is cool cause, like Saturn, and Jupiter, it has rings, but to keep it unique, Uranus has vertical rings running from it's north to south pole. If you look at Uranus directly, it looks like an archery target, and Uranus is the bullseye.
Neptune - Neptune is the final planet in the solar system, but it's had a tough time maintaining that status. It's colour is a very cool blue, but it's much too cold and far away to be of much use to me at the moment. There's a lot going on down at the core of Neptune though, with pressure at it's core 7 million times the core of Earth, I'd expect some kind of diamond shelled crab people, slowly plotting a way out. ]]>.lomotag:daveyb.net,2008-05-06:5fbafa87-b469-4cb9-9b4d-40a91680c2d1dvb2008-05-06T19:48:05Z2008-05-06T19:42:00Z ]]>.javatag:daveyb.net,2008-05-06:a647325d-7b96-4d7b-af6e-bccdee6b6acedvb2008-05-06T11:48:41Z2008-05-06T11:37:00ZThen somebody let me in on a secret. "Upstairs, near the execs, is one of those super high end single cup Krups grind and brews."
The rumors were true! It makes everything! It grinds, it brew, it froths, it frazzles, it frumps, and it froils!
There's a selection of quality beans!
I'm in coffee heaven, which is my version of pie heaven.
Folgers, you suck. I'm giving you an impromptu review. You get zero jupiters.
