May | 2004 | mashby

May 29, 2004

Learning To Let Go

Gracie running up the hill in our backyard There’s a dog that was a recent addition to our neighborhood. He lives just two doors down and goes by the name of Vegas. He’s a sweet puppy, but a big puppy although I don’t know what breed he is. He has the coloring of a Doberman, but his ears are a bit floppy. I’ve heard that Dobermans can get their ears trimmed to give them the upright ears they are know for and maybe his haven’t been trimmed. I don’t know, I’m no expert, but whatever breed he is, he’s sweet as can be.
His owner gives him a lot of room to run – the whole neighborhood in fact. Just about any time of the day, I can expect a brief visit from Vegas. He’ll run up, his tale wagging with bright happy eyes that seem to be saying “Hey! What cha doin’? Need any help?” I don’t like how he sometimes tramples our garden in order to come say hello, but he’s just so happy to see people that it’s hard to stay mad at him. Often times, as I see him run back to his own home, I wish that I could give Gracie some room to run and let her off the leash a little bit. I would never give her full run of the neighborhood like Vegas’ owner does, but some freedom would be nice.

Part of my resistance has been due to Gracie’s propensity for running to greet new people and/or animals. When I have her attention, she usually minds me, but when she’s been on the leash and a squirrel darts across our path, I’m thankful that she’s tethered to me. Walking through the neighborhood during our evening walk, I’ve felt the temptation to unhook the leash and let her run free a little bit, but my overwhelming fear that Gracie would tear off and not come back is too strong. I’d like to think that she’d stay close, but it’s such an unknown and if she were to run away, or get hurt, I don’t think I could take it.

May 28, 2004

Bluetooth Basics: Pairing

Bluetooth Logo I’ve been playing with Bluetooth (BT) off and on for the past year or so, but it wasn’t until I purchased the Sony Ericsson T608 BT mobile phone that I really began to use BT technology on a more regular and meaningful way. I’ve learned a little bit as I’ve explored how to do things with Bluetooth and I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned in the hopes of demystifying the technology. Once you’ve learned some of the basics, it’s really quite easy to use and in some respects, becomes almost transparent.

What IS Bluetooth?
Conceived by Ericsson, Bluetooth technology is the result of the joint achievements of nine leading companies including Motorola, Nokia, Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Toshiba, 3Com, Lucent and Microsoft. Ericsson labeled the technology “Bluetooth” after Harald I Bluetooth, the King of Denmark between 940 and 985 AD. They felt this name was appropriate because Kind Harald was remembered for uniting the various separate clans of Denmark and Norway. Similarly, the Bluetooth wireless technology seeks similar goals – to unite separate and various devices wirelessly. The future vision of the technology is that via Bluetooth, your computer, or handheld could “talk” to a vending machine, a toaster, or even the mundane mobile phone.

After several years of hype, Bluetooth products are finally making some headway in the US market. Adapters for your PC are as inexpensive as $30 and BT mobile phones have finally come stateside. Not quite the juggernaut that was promised, BT is gaining ground and is still a viable technology even though other standards have gained more ground, such as 802.11b

May 25, 2004

S A W E E T!

I just got off the phone with SprintPCS Customer Service and they informed me that Nationwide long distance includes Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and …drum roll please… G U A M. That means that I can call my buddy Dan, who just moved to Guam, for free! So although he’s halfway around the world, across the dateline even, I can still call him because he’s still in the United States. I can’t begin to tell you how thrilled I am to learn this.

May 24, 2004

Back From Across The Border

made it back last night from the Rivera Maya all safe and sound. It was a fantastic trip and could not have gone better. I have a TON of photos as well as a bunch of entries for a travelogue. However, like anyone else returning from a weeks absence, there’s a lot of catching up I have to do work wise. As a result, it will be a few days before I can get the photos, or the travel notes posted.

May 17, 2004

Hola From Mexico

My wife and I are on vacation this week, so it looks like mashby.com will be dark for the duration. We return this coming Sunday and should be back to regular posting then.

As for a travelogue of our trip, I´m not going to promise anything. So far my success with Travelogues hasn´t been that great. I post a lot of stuff, but I never seem to finish them 😛 I will tell you this. If I complete the travelogue, then I´ll post it when it´s done.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great week and I´ll see you on the flip side. 🙂

May 14, 2004

Let Them Eat Cake

Yesterday SixApart, the company behind MoveableType, released a new version of their software along with a new pricing structure. For those of us running MT, we’re going to have to seriously consider if we’re going to stick with it because for some sites, it’s going to get VERY expensive. Luckily, for those running simplified weblogs, there’s still a free version, but if you have too many weblogs, or too many authors, then you could be forced to pay a pretty penny.
I went ahead a bit the bullet and purchased the Personal Edition. It’s currently reduced 33%, plus I was credited $20 for my past contribution (although I donated $30), which brought down the price to $49.95. Funny how that math worked out isn’t it. ??? Anyway, I went ahead and installed the upgrade and applied the changes to the main weblog. I’m still sorting out a few things here and there and I’m getting ready to head on vacation, so it may be a week or so before I get around to fixing everything, so things be a bit clunky for a little while.

May 12, 2004

I Love The Slop

Rain falling amongst the trees. This week has been very humid, wet and rainy. Today it looks like it’s more of the same weather we’ve been having. It’s overcast, humid as all get out and the threat of rain is ever present. Looks like perfect cycling weather to me. 🙂
Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been trying to workout at the gym three times a week. When I took up cycling though, I found that I didn’t go to the gym as much because I was riding my bike just about every day. I was still attending my Wednesday yoga class, but I was tending to skip Monday and Friday’s workout. Then it occurred to me, although I’m getting a good cardio workout with my normal 10 mile rides, I’m not doing any weights. So I resolved to make Monday and Friday days that I would work on various muscle groups using the weight machines.

When last Monday rolled around, I decided to “kick it up a notch” and ride my bike to and from the gym. That would give me a 24 mile ride in addition to the workout at the gym. The fact that it was raining just added to the incentive, because I love the slop. There’s just something refreshing about riding in the rain. Maybe it’s my psyche having flashbacks to jumping in puddles on the way home, I don’t know, but when it rains, I’m ready to ride.

May 12, 2004

Contact Form Fixed

It was brought to my attention that the Contact Form was not functioning properly since a recent server upgrade. I fixed the form, so it’s now working properly. 🙂

May 11, 2004

The Sony Ericsson T608

The Sony Ericsson T608 CDMA Bluetooth Mobile Phone I’ve had the T608 for a week now and although I haven’t explored every single possibility with this new mobile phone, I have played around with it enough to share with you my initial impressions and thoughts. The only real missing element from this review is that I haven’t tested this phone with a Bluetooth headset yet. This is probably the biggest reason to get a Bluetooth phone, so you may see this as a big oversight, but I’ll post another entry at a later date once I’ve had a chance to use one.
What’s The Story, Morning Glory?
The Sony Ericsson T608 is the first Bluetooth enabled phone that runs on a CDMA network, such as Sprint PCS and Verizon. Sony Ericsson had plans to release an entire series of phones for both networks, but unfortunately they decided to shut down their CDMA division and it looked like none of the phones would see the light of day. However Sprint PCS was smart enough to bring one of the devices to market. They began selling the T608 via their Tele-Sales department (1-866-PCS-2886) back in November – December of last year and as of this writing, they still have some in stock.

May 10, 2004

Vacation = T Minus 7

A countdown at the number 7 Ah, nothing quite like a vacation to get away from it all and kick back and relax. All you have to do is pack your bags and leave your cares behind. Of course if you run your own business, then it’s a little bit different experience getting ready to leave. In fact, if I had to be completely honest, it’s a gut-wrenching, night sweating, week long freak out. :O
This year Holly and I are going to the Riviera Maya in Mexico. It’s about an hour south of Cancún in the Yucatan peninsula and we’ll be staying at the Riu Playacar. It’s a 7-day trip and we leave this Sunday and return the following Sunday. According to the brochures, there’s Mayan ruins, monkeys on the beach and pirate ship lobster dinner cruises. It sounds absolutely wonderful, and I’m sure that it will be, but knowing that I’m going to be away for a full week is a little bit daunting to say the least.

Month / May 2004