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Another golf gadget...

I don't golf as much as I did when I was younger, or as much as I might like to. I've never been a great golfer, though back in high school I had a respectable 15 handicap. If you are into gadgets and golf, there is no end to the number of tools and devices claiming to help you cut strokes from your game. I'm pretty skeptical when it comes to most of these gadgets as I believe, when it comes to golf, you either have it or you don't. Yes, practice helps but there is something that the elite athlete has that the rest of us will never possess.

Here though is a neat little gadget that just might work, my father swears by it, and I think it can be reasonably explained through physics. According to the manufacturer of this device, no golf ball is perfectly aligned when it leaves the factory. The Check-Go Sweet Spot Finder spins a golf ball to an impressive 10,000 rpm automatically realigning the ball's heaviest areas along it's equator. Once this is accomplished the machine's LED indicates that the ball is spinning in balance and the user then inserts the included marker into the machine to draw a line along the ball's sweet spot. Aligning the marked line with your golf club or putter will ensure that the ball tumbles as truly as possible in flight or on the green, and just might give you that little extra advantage during your next match play. Did I mention that my father is an engineer, an avid golfer, and a Check-Go believer...

Geek art?

I read 2 magazines regularly, Wired and Business 2.0. Both of these satisfy my needs to keep up with all things geeky and I nearly always have 2 or 3 of them laying around the house in various stages of being read. I like the broad view that each takes in covering technology, that's to say, they don't pigeon hole themselves by being too specific or geared towards any one technology. Each issue of either magazine covers varying topics from Internet to biodeisel, gadgets to IPO's.

Besides the compelling content, I have always admired Wired's fantastic cover art and during a recent purge of my home office's book shelves I was torn between the love of the magazine and my need to make room. What to do? Well, when you can't bare to throw it out... frame it!

While I most certainly am an early adopter when it comes to technology, there are a few things that, to me, can only be done in the traditional fashion. Barbequing is one of those things! I’ve had my Weber® Kettle grill for 15 years and it has been a trusted friend. For a very long time family members have been begging me to “upgrade” to a gas grill, and I have been the butt of many jokes regarding ole faithful. There is an art to grilling with charcoal and the barbequing experience is much more fulfilling when you’ve nurtured the coals to that perfect pinkish-white.

Alas, this year I’ve finally given in to the mobs of flesh hungry drones that inhabit my home… okay so that’s a little dramatic, but it does seem as though I’ve tossed a friend to the curb! I’ve just purchased my first gas grill, but of course not just any grill, this is the 56,000 btu stainless steel beauty that I’ve passed in the isles of the local grocery store since there was still snow on the ground. I’ll admit it did catch my eye and I did occasionally envision my self standing in front of a large brontosaurus rib, Fred Flintstone style… The L@H 56,000 BTU stainless steel BBQ is a real performer, it assembled easily and fired up first try. I was amazed at the speed at which the thermometer climbed to +500 deg. F. It’s been in constant use since the purchase and I think I may be becoming one of the converted… rest assured, no BBQ was harmed in this experiment as the Weber will be heading for the summer place.

By the way, the L@H utensils are a marvel of engineering! :-)

Spy coins, eh!

LOL... this is a great story of technology and espionage! Apparently some U.S. defence contractors got suspicious of the coins which they found in their rental car while traveling here in Canada. The coins in question are the commemorative Rememberance Quarter of 2004 (on the right below). The quarters, as you can see, have a very distinct red poppy in the centre which appently also fluoresces under a black light. You can read the entire story here.

By the way, I do understand the need to be paranoid if you are a defence contractor. Guys... watch out for the 2006 Cancer Ribbon coin too!

Perhaps I should rethink the domain name???

Just doing a little surfing before calling it quits for the night and I happened to check the definition of geek on the Merriam-Webster site. I was really worried until I got to the last one... I believe that I'm fairly well liked, and I haven't bitten the head off of anything lately!

Oh, got my SCOTTeVEST Microfleece Pullover today, a day early!!! I'm lovin' it! Cost a little more than I had planned on spending once exchange, shipping, and duties are considered, but still worth it.

Oh those silly google guys!

We all know google as a great search engine, I've been using it almost exclusively since it launched in the late 90's. Sergey and Larry have been pumping out the applications ever since with great services such as g-mail, docs and spreadsheets, and google maps, to name a few. If you've never explored google take a few moments and click the "more" link on the google home page. I'll write about some of my favorites at a later date.

The focus of this post however is their corporate sense of humour. It appears as though they really don't take themselves very seriously, or at least they can appreciate a really good joke. Next April 1, be sure to give the google page a good second look... go ahead put it in your google calendar now!

The latest hint of google humour was brought to my attention this morning. For laughs try the following:

1. Go to google maps;
2. Click on the "Get directions" link;
3. Enter "New York, NY" in the from field;
4. Enter "Paris, France" in the to filed;
5. Click the "Get Directions" button;
6. Read the list of directions; and
7. Laugh out load when you get to number 24!

Thanks Adam!

De-vice

It appears as though school boards everywhere are facing new challenges in their efforts to thwart cheats, and have been developing policies to ban or at least control the use of electronic devices in the classroom. One would expect those who are inclined to take the easy way out to quickly grasp the concept of texting but the little cheats are apparently more creative than I would have given them credit for... apparently some have taken to recording notes on their mp3 players and hiding their ear buds in the sleeve of their hoodies, placing their hand near their ear to listen to recording at the appropriate time. Even more ingenious is the use of the mp3 files tags to hide notes in a songs data for display on the screen... now that's using your brain! If only they would put those brains to good use and do a little studying.

News Release - Eastern School District - April 19, 2007 (pdf)

CNN article

Barcodes everywhere!

A few years ago I was enticed into joining a program by AC Nielsen called Homescan, it's basically a big brother kinda thing where you provide them with details of your household purchases in return for points which can be redeemed for rewards. Their website states "Once we receive your household information, you will be placed on a Reserve Status Waiting List. Homescan will then randomly select households to join the panel. This ensures that the panel truly reflects the country's diverse population." Along time passed, must have been 18 months, but I finally was accepted into the fold. I'm all about reward programs and really could care less about who knows how much peanut butter I buy or what kind of magazines I read, besides they give you a bar code scanner! Apparently ours is one of 270,000 homes in 27 countries around the world that is participating.

The rechargeable scanner connects to your PC via USB or serial connection. You download a list of retailers for your area and scan each purchase you make. Some retailers provide AC Nielsen with price data so you are not required to enter prices while others do not which makes the scanning process a little slow and tedious. Thankfully the grocery store that I shop at does and that's where the bulk of my purchases are anyway. The scanning is a bit time consuming and I sometimes forget but once you get used to it and get in the habit it's not that difficult. From time to time they send surveys in the mail and I must say that scanning surveys is much easier and I definitely respond better to these than those annoying phone surveys. I've not yet earned enough points to get any of the interesting rewards but I'll continue to scan until I have. If you are a coupon clipper or participate in rewards programs Homescan might just be for you. Check them out, but be patient...

SCOTTeVEST

I just ordered my SCOTTeVEST microfleece and I can't wait to get my hands on it. If you are like me, your pockets are constantly overflowing... cell phone, camera, iPod, pen, etc. I'm hoping that the SCOTTeVEST will be the perfect solution to the gadget carrying dilemma. They are very stylish and designed to keep your gear organized while not weighing you down or tangling you up in your ear buds. The product line includes jackets, vests, shirts (including the cool performance line), and cargo pants with hidden pockets! I'll be watching anxiously for the UPS guy and will let you know what I think of it once it has arrived. Click on the link above or the banner on the right to check out all of the cool stuff!

Update: April 24, 2007

Within an hour of placing my order I recieved an e-mail from customer service answering a question that I had and within a few hours I had an e-mail with tracking numbers from UPS. Checked the status this morning and... "Your package is on time with a scheduled delivery date of 03/05/2007."