JoeFuture.com

Under the weather

JoeFuture — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 03:36:48 GMT

I often hear idioms and wonder where they came from. Today, I learned that the phrase "under the weather" was originally used in reference to people who went below deck on boats during rough weather to try to recover from sea-sickness. By going below, they were literally going "under the weather" where the rocking of the boat wasn't so bad.

No wonder people think English is hard!

A co-worker also recently told me that "rule of thumb" comes from the old days where you were allowed to beat your spouse with a stick so long as it was smaller in diameter than your thumb. I'm working hard to erase this phrase from my vocabulary.

I don't know if these origins are correct, but they sure make you think!

Quick and Dirty Lifehacking Tips

JoeFuture — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:57:27 GMT

I found this great site randomly last week and thought I'd share it. QDNow.com offers a variety of podcasts containing short 5-8 minute shows with tips on personal finance, parenting, grammar, manners, and other topics useful in everyday life. Most of them have 30-40 shows already delivered, so there's plenty to browse to get a feel for what they're delivering before you subscribe to the free feeds.

Online home audit tells you the most effective energy-saving improvements to make

JoeFuture — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 02:09:31 GMT

Whether you're a Duke Energy customer or not, you can use this online home energy audit to figure out the most effective ways to reduce your home's energy consumption. Contrary to what you might think, starting with a full window replacement might not be the best bang for the buck.

The site asks you a series of questions about your home, your appliances, your energy use patterns, and your previous energy bills. It then makes customized recommendations designed to maximize your savings and minimize the stress on your wallet.

Link: https://www.energyguide.com/ha/Welcome.aspx

Hypermiling Tip #10

JoeFuture — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 01:42:33 GMT

I've lost track of how many tips I've posted so far, so I will just stat with 10. Today's tip: never go through drivethroughs. Even at idling rates, you can waste a significant amount of gas waiting for those fries. Instead, try parking and going inside, having a nice conversation, and enjoying the AC while you wait.

Silverlight coming to an Internet TV near you?

JoeFuture — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 20:34:57 GMT

Maven Networks announced it will be incorporating Silverlight technology into its InternetTV offerings, opening up doors for rich interactive applications on the tube as well as easing content providers' path for providing Windows Media-based video.

It just... keeps... getting... cooler!

Silverlight Amazon Album Viewer

JoeFuture — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 18:38:26 GMT

Check out this slick demo by Dan Wahlin. He has built an application using Silverlight that looks up artists on Amazon.com and renders a glossy carousel view of all albums by that artist. Hovering over an album brings up a more detailed view including the Amazon member rating.

Even nicer, Dan has made the source code available for learning purposes.

Silverlight just keeps rockin' on... get on the train!

Breakin' the rules

JoeFuture — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 02:07:32 GMT

I broke two of my core shopping rules today. The first involved going into a Best Buy with the intent of making a purchase. The second involved buying that item at WalMart when Best Buy didn't have it!

All I wanted was a simple corded wall phone with Caller ID. Nothing fancy - the kind of phone everyone had 15 years ago. Turns out all you can get at BB these days are cordless phones with features galore. They only had 1 model that didn't require an AC plug, but it was $30 and didn't have Caller ID. Before I got desperate, I even checked an OfficeMax.

Why is it so hard to find something so simple? Can the public really be duped into believing they have to fork over a full day's pay (on credit, of course) for a "mega device" when you can get away with a much more basic solution? Could it be that the luddites are onto something?

Well thank goodness for WalMart, I guess. The phone cost a mere $8 and the 25ft cord was $6. People watching in Hell, priceless. But I have to admit when I think about all the packaging, materials, process, labor, energy, and pollution that went into making that phone, Going off the grid sounds better and better.

Pen Blogging

JoeFuture — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 03:39:59 GMT

Live Writer Updated

JoeFuture — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 03:28:26 GMT

Windows Live Writer Beta has been updated, along with Live Messenger and Live Mail. All three applications now sport a shiny new Vista-esque theme that actually looks very nice even on Windows XP.

Download all 3 at http://ideas.live.com.

More Silverlight Candy: Telerik RadControls

JoeFuture — Thu, 31 May 2007 17:47:40 GMT

Yet another example of the new web world using Silverlight. Telerik has developed a set of Silverlight-based controls to help you take your web apps to the next level.

Check out a demo here.

IMHO, if you're a Flash junkie today, you need start ramping up on Silverlight as soon as possible or you're going to get left in the dust very soon.

Silverlight candy: swinging rope simulation

JoeFuture — Thu, 31 May 2007 17:44:03 GMT

Another bit of fun with Silverlight: a physics-based demo of a swinging rope using molecular dynamics simulation techniques. What's amazing to me is how quickly the demo loads. I'm really looking forward to see how Web 3.0 evolves using Silverlight. You'll need the Silverlight 1.0 beta to view the demo.

600 mile club!

JoeFuture — Wed, 30 May 2007 00:18:00 GMT

Woohoo! I hit 600.2 miles as I rolled into the gas station tonight after work. This is my first >600 mile tank, and according to the gas pump, I supposedly had almost 2 gallons left! So my next milestone will be 700 miles... once I work up the nerve, that is!

Extolling the virtues of the Honda Civic Hybrid

JoeFuture — Tue, 29 May 2007 16:53:00 GMT

As I mentioned previously, I have a sticker on my HCH-II with a simple message: 52mpg. Yes, it's partially there for bragging rights, and partially there to help people understand just what kind of great mileage you can achieve with this car.

Well this weekend, someone actually pulled up beside me at a red light and started asking all sorts of questions about the car after seeing the sticker! She was considering replacing her minivan with an HCH-II or a Prius. She told me she preferred the non-spaceship look of the HCH-II over the Prius (I agree). She was also fairly tall, 6ft, and asked how the headroom was. Being 6'1" myself, I was happy to tell her I had plenty of headroom. I can't say enough good things about this car, and it's great to get an opportunity to tell a perfect stranger how much I like it too!

Interestingly, on my current tank, I'm 563 miles into the tank at 55.2mpg! Looks like I'm going to have to get a new sticker! I'm hoping this is my first 600 mile tank, so keep your fingers crossed.

Oscar Begat

JoeFuture — Sat, 19 May 2007 02:00:00 GMT

I'm in a cave with Christmas lights. Elvis with a black eye is sitting at the bar next to me, wearing what I imagine is his finest aloha shirt. He's staring intensely at Ronnie, who I think is the father of both the lead guitarist and bassist.

The band is Oscar Begat, described to me by drummer Aaron as "alternative chamber pop". Part Dave Matthews, part singer/songwriter, and part folk/blues. They're rocking a song about trying to play frisbee in a tornado in Ohio.

Old people in business casual keep trickling in, and the occassional lost student pokes a curious head in the door... then leaves. They don't get it.

The second set is much more consistent and mellow jam than the first. Nick Cave meets Phish. Very glad I stayed.

What is with all the suits?

Aaron is pulling out a Kalimba. Here comes the violin, add a little rhythm acoustic and bass. This is a lullaby worthy of Bjork.

I wish the the suits at the bar would shut it. They're muddling the jam.

Ronnie is holding his own when it comes to hip. That's hip, not hip replacement. He's working the Crybaby Wah like its just part of his foot.

I'm just curious... How do you start a band with your dad?

I'm outta here in 5, else I have to pay cover for the next band, and from the looks of the guiitarist, they're playing old Cure songs no doubt. Later.

MS Popfly - Mashups on Steroids

JoeFuture — Fri, 18 May 2007 17:56:09 GMT

I just found out about Microsoft Popfly. It's a new platform/website for creating mashups. It's not quite open to the public yet, but you can visit www.popfly.ms to request an invitation. Be sure to check out the 15 minute demo video that shows examples of making mashups from geotagged images on flickr, displaying them on a Virtual Earth map, and all in 3D! Best of all, you can write it all in managed code with Silverlight.

I've requested an invitation, but I sort of hope I don't get invited. If I do, then I'm sure I'm going to be wasting a ton of time there.

Want a Zune job?

JoeFuture — Fri, 18 May 2007 03:58:46 GMT

Think you can make the Zune better? The Zune team is hiring... here's your shot.

Minor Theme Redesign

JoeFuture — Fri, 18 May 2007 03:57:40 GMT

I spent some time tonight playing around with the free trials of Microsoft Expression Web and Expression Design. Both apps are extremely easy to use and quite capable! I had a lot of fun playing around with the Blend 2 preview and Silverlight tonight too. I'm sure I'll find a way to include some Silverlight features into the site one of these days.

You'll notice the theme updates if you click through the RSS feed to the actual site (does anyone do that anymore?). I also fixed the problem where you weren't getting redirected to this blog page when you hit http://joefuture.com.

So now that the theming & site bugs are out of the way, back to the future!

MSN Getting Involved with Live Earth

JoeFuture — Thu, 17 May 2007 20:40:12 GMT

MSN has just unveiled their new site, liveearth.msn.com to promote a partnership of awareness with the Live Earth movement. The site is choc full o green goodness including green driving tips, videos, downloads, and even a new song by Madonna that's free to download for the next 7 days. Kudos to MSN for stepping up!

Hypermiling Update

JoeFuture — Tue, 15 May 2007 19:38:00 GMT

With a bit of a cold snap, some cruising around neighborhoods at low speeds, and rushing my wife to a doctor's appointment (lesson: always leave early), this tank wasn't as good as the last. I got 48.9mpg for 502.6 miles. Here's a snap of the dash just after I filled up, but before I had started the engine and reset the odometer.

It's a shame this one is blurry. If you squint, you'll see that for the first .5 miles of my new tank (from the gas station to work this morning), I'm getting 92.6 mpg :). I'm sure that will drop at least 40 mpg on the way home from work today, but it's fun to see. I tried hard, but I couldn't get it up to 99.9 to see if it would flip over.

Buy 1 Roomba, Get 1 Free!

JoeFuture — Mon, 14 May 2007 03:16:26 GMT

Well... almost :). Right now, if you buy any Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner over $279 at time of purchase, you can get a FREE Roomba Dirt Dog cleaner too! Here's a link to the rebate form.

Tip: If you're going to buy a Roomba, first use their referral program to get a 10% off coupon code, then plop down the coupon code perform50 to get another $50 off your order!

Help Bring Back Online Poker

JoeFuture — Thu, 10 May 2007 18:29:15 GMT

Ask your Congressman to bring back online poker by supporting HR-2046. The Poker Player's Alliance has created this easy website to send a letter to your congressman (even if you don't know who he/she is!) to support this new resolution. The gist of the resolution is that consenting adults shouldn't be told what they can and can't do with their own money online (especially when other forms of gambling are still legal all over the USA).

Kilowatts per rush hour?

JoeFuture — Thu, 10 May 2007 15:50:33 GMT

Here's a very creative idea to harness the wind from cars rushing down the interstate and convert it into electricity. These turbines supposedly generate 9600 kWh per year:

It proves the concept that excess energy is everywhere! We just need to open our eyes and think a little to be able to harvest it. Of course we're not going to net zero energy loss, but why let something like unused wind go completely to waste?

Via: Crunchgear

The Zen of Hypermiling

JoeFuture — Thu, 03 May 2007 23:51:13 GMT

I hypermile because I can. I can because I hypermile.

Before I learned how to drive for maximum mileage, I had severe road rage. Tailgaters, aggressive drivers, people who speed up wjen they see a turn signal instead of letting you into the lane... they all burned me up. I also used to drive fairly fast. Who gestures a speeding ticket with their whole family in the minivan on the way to the zoo? You guessed it.

Hypermiling changed my life. By focusing on all the small nuances of driving necessary to achieve maximum fuel efficiency, I no longer have time to get upset at poor or inconsiderate drivers. By slowing down, I no longer feel the pressure of having to get to my destination in record time. My feelings of rage have turned to sorrow for the millions of people on the road who put their own selfish needs in front of theirs and others' safety and who don't realize their impact on the environment.

Ok, so I do chuckle a bit when folks whiz by me and end up waiting with me at the next red light :)

Live... drive... hypermile.

Watch for flying pigs and ice in Hell - I voted for American Idol

JoeFuture — Wed, 02 May 2007 02:03:00 GMT

I thought this day would never come, but I've done it. I haven't watched a single bit of Idol in years, but for some reason I found myself sucked into Bon Jovi night. I felt old as the contestants explained how their parents grew up on Bon Jovi's rockin' tunes. Most of the performances were actually decent, but one stuck out in a way I respected enough to want to reward.

"Blake" pulled off a rendition of "You Give Love a Bad Name", a song familiar to just about everyone who was breathing in the late 80's, was fresh, creative, and very very bold.

Mixing beat box bridges, a bit of an acid jazz rhythm, and a dead on Jovi-worthy hook, this guy stepped away from the lather/rinse/repeat dime-a-dozen Idol karaoke standards, grabbed the song by the horns, and made it his own.

Blake's lead-in dialog also caught my attention when he exclaimed, "if you don't take risks, you don't ever see anything new." A bit profound for Idol, don't you think?

Anyway, I doubt I'll ever vote again, but you never know. Kudos to Blake for stepping out of the norm and taking a risk!

A Good Tank

JoeFuture — Tue, 01 May 2007 19:00:00 GMT

Now that the weather is warm again, my mileage is creeping up again. It turns out I still had 2 gallons left according to the pump, but my guage was on empty so I decided not to risk it.