Twitter Link to the Rescue

For some unexplained reason, Twitter removed the hyperlink to names today. The hyperlinks were especially useful when deciding whether or not to add that person as a follower because they linked directly to that person’s profile. I figured it was a problem with Tweetr until I read Dave Winer’s post and realized it was service wide.

I assume a few things will happen very shortly:

  1. Twitter users will complain until they are forced to bring back back the feature.
  2. Standalone apps like Tweetr will work around the problem by adding the functionality to their apps

But until that time Twitter user, TDavid, has created a nifty Firefox extension that bring the hyperlinking back to Twitter. I’ve been using it tonight and it works great. You can download it here.

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This might work so I don’t even care if Twitter adds it back. I figured someone would write an extension or a Greasemonkey script but had no idea it would happen tonight! Excellent job.

Curious Sign at Fred Meyer

I went to Fred Meyer last night to pickup a few items including a small light for a children’s night globe. This Fred Meyer has a regular grocery store area and larger department store area. It’s similar to a Super Target or Super Wal-Mart only not quite so large.

I like Fred Meyer because it’s clean, the people are nice, they have a good produce section and I know my way around the aisles. I can find the peanut butter, popcorn, Diet Coke and string cheese with ease!

So last night I located the small light section in the grocery area of the store. I wasn’t finding the light I needed but I noticed a hand-written sign that said:

You can find more lights in the Electrical department

I was happy they had more lights in another area of the store, but it would have been just as easy to include the aisle number on that sign, right?

The electrical section is mixed in between the paint and the lamps areas. Although I’m very familiar with the store layout, it still took some time to find where the lights were.

As luck would have it, after I found the area, I reached in my pocket and realized I’d left the tiny light at home and couldn’t recall the model/size I came for. Total bummer.

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Open Letter to DirecTV

Dear DirecTV,

I’ve been a happy DirecTV customer for over 10 years. I’ve told countless friends, family and coworkers about your service and many have switched from cable to DirecTV.

Recently I’ve been spending less time watching TV and your PPV offerings because nimble companies like Netflix and online software like Miro are making it easier for me to find movies and programming I’m after.

With Netflix, I can queue up movies before they arrive on DVD. Then, once they hit retail shelves, Netflix drops the DVD in the mail. The time to get my attention about a hit movie is when it’s new to theaters and people are talking about it. Netflix makes it easy to find and rent that movie before you can offer it on PPV. Basically, they beat you to the punch.

I’ll save Miro for a different day, but I have a suggestion for how to combat Netflix and take even more money from me each month. Allow me to queue movies from your website so that when Oceans 13 comes to PPV, my DirecTivo will automatically find, purchase and download it to receiver.

This can’t be difficult to do. I know the DVD usually arrives in stores a few weeks before you can offer the same movie on PPV. But I can live with that as long as I know I’m going to get it with minimal hassle.

Just make it happen and you’ll greatly increase the number of PPV customers. You’ve got to make it as easy as Netflix though or it won’t work.

Regards,

BN

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Twitter goes mainstream at work

powerI never thought it would happen. It’s too niche, I told myself. But I was wrong. Today, for reasons unknown, Twitter went mainstream at work. When I started I only knew one other person who was on Twitter. She’s the artsy type so that didn’t surprise me. I figured Twitter was mostly for those that enjoyed blogging and not the geeky IT crowd. 

This got me thinking about how the work culture changes when the majority of the company uses Twitter regularly. Here’s what I think:

  1. Employee to employee email is reduced.
  2. Employee to employee instant messaging is reduced.
  3. Those who may be on the outside can suddenly be in the know
  4. The playing field is leveled. Titles don’t mean anything.
  5. Community is fostered.

It will be interesting to see how Twitter changes our culture at work. Maybe today was just an anomaly and it really won’t change much or people will use it for a week and then quit.

I for one hope it continues.

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Windows Live Writer 2008 Now Available

Even in beta it was one of my favorite programs. Now that it’s out of beta, it’s worth upgrading to the latest version of Windows Live Writer 2008. You can download the latest version from here. 

If you maintain a blog grab this tool today. It takes the hassles out of of updating your blog. It’s easy to setup and use to use. I love the “Save Draft” feature. When I’d use the online WordPress editor, I’d occasionally lose a draft before I hit the publish button. That’s a thing of the past now.

WLW frees you up to write instead of tweak. Isn’t that why you started a blog in the first place?

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‘Tis the Season for George Winston

The time of year between Halloween and Christmas is my favorite time of year. I enjoy the cooler temperatures, colorful falling leaves and the family activities. And I especially enjoy the music.

Around this time each year, Kim will start playing holiday music on the piano and we’ll start listening to Christmas music in the car and around the house. One of favorite CDs is “December” from George Winston. I especially like the song called Thanksgiving seen below.

If you get the chance to catch Winston in concert, he’s well worth the price of admission. He’s so talented yet so humble you can’t help but like the guy.

Fat Blogging

Back in August of 2006 I decided I’d better get my act together and begin exercising more and eating a healthier diet. For the next six months I was hard core with my diet. The biggest changes I made were:

  1. Replacing Coke with Diet Coke
  2. Drinking lots of water
  3. Removed sugar from diet
  4. Closely monitored carb intake

The first few weeks were miserable. Giving up breads and pastries was the most difficult. Even today it’s still not easy. But I noticed that once I stopped eating sugar, my strongest cravings disappeared.

Eventually dropped my weight from 260 lbs to 205 lbs. I replaced nearly every clothing item I owned. I lost 5 inches in my waist and dropped two shirt sizes. It was great fun to walk into Nordstrom and pick out a couple size LARGE shirts!

I felt so much better about myself. I had more energy to play with my kids. My clothes fit so much better and I could wear things that didn’t look very good on me before.

So it’s hard to admit this but I slipped up about 6 months ago and gained a good chunk of that weight back. I stopped doing those things that helped me lose the weight in the first place. I had a couple of big changes take place in my life that contributed to me slipping up, but had I been more committed I wouldn’t have let it happen.

When I first started my quest to lose weight, I wasn’t sure I could do it. I’d think about my weight every single day but wasn’t sure I was able to do anything about it. This time around I know I can lose weight. The challenge is keeping it off and continuing to eat healthy foods and exercise so the weight doesn’t return.

For the past two weeks I’ve been doing well with my diet and the exercise has been more frequent, although still not what it should be. I’ve dropped 9 lbs. in the last two weeks to bring my weight to 235. My goal is to get to 180 by the summer. I created a spreadsheet at Google Docs to track my weight and bought a new scale that keeps track of my weight and body fat.

It seems strange to put so much focus on a number. In fact, I don’t really know what my ideal weight should be and I may adjust my goal at some point. When I married Kim, I was around 190. My body just “feels” right when I’m around that 180-190 range.

I’m going to reach my goal this time.

This is probably the most selfish blog post I’ve ever written because it’s hard to imagine anyone other than myself (and maybe Kim) who care what I weigh. But I hope by posting my progress occasionally that my blog will work as a motivator and keep me on track. And maybe some of my coworkers won’t place the candy dish right outside my door.

BTW, Jason Calacanis was the first blogger I read who mentioned the concept of Fat Blogging.

The rhythm is gonna getcha

I tried to login to my online banking account and received a curious message along the lines of this:

We can not provide access to your account at this time. We cannot verify your credentials at this time due to your typing rhythm

I’ve never this message before. I’ll occasionally forget my password, but I’ve never been told that my typing rhythm is off tempo.

I went to the security section of my credit union’s website to see what I could find on improving my rhythm and gain access to my account. Here’s what I came across:

By definition, biometrics is the measurement of physical characteristics to verify your identity. Essentially, this new feature measures the rhythm at which you type your password to verify your identity. It does not keep track of your actual password, it simply recognizes the rhythm in which you type it. Since each person has a unique typing rhythm, this feature provides you an additional layer of security.

Upon login, if we are unable to verify your identity using your username, password, and typing rhythm, you may still proceed to Online Banking, assuming of course your username and password are correct. However, if you attempt to complete actual transactions, you will encounter a series of challenge questions to further verify your identity. You must answer at least one of the challenge questions correctly to continue.

Sure enough, I tried logging in again and flail and wailthis time I could see my account but when I tried to schedule an online payment, I was presented with a screen full of challenge question. I had to answer three questions successfully before I was given full access to my account.

Is this what it’s now come to? Not only do I have to remember all my passwords but my rhythm can’t be out of whack!

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Pancake Cutting

This morning Kim and I were both slow to get moving. The kids had downed a pudding. Or two. They were clamoring for something else to eat so I went into the kitchen to warm up some pancakes that Kim had made earlier.

The pancakes are pretty much the same size. But not to the kids. Luca is certain that the pancake Lincoln grabbed is larger than hers. And Anna is going crazy because her pancake is smaller than Luca’s. It’s a cycle that has no end. This is usually how it goes when I foolishly think the kids can fairly divvy out the pancakes. pancakes

So this morning I decided to bring playground rules to the kitchen. I set the pancakes on a plate in the middle of the table. I then had Luca, Lincoln and Anna sit around the table, close enough to reach the plate but not close enough to snag a pancake off a siblings plate.

I started with Lincoln who chose the first pancake. Then Anna and then Luca. I then let Luca go first till the plate was empty. Things went better than I anticipated and everyone seemed happy.

As I pulled out the syrup Lincoln said, “Dad, you forgot to cut our pancakes”. So I started cutting his pancakes into smaller pieces until I was finished. I poured maple syrup over them when Lincoln looked at her plate and said, “Hey, NOT FAIR….my pancake is now smaller than Luca’s!”