fognl

Get off my lawn.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Fame == Cool

I just read this post on AndroidGuys.com regarding the First Ever ANA Nominees, and noticed that Greed is one of the candidates for "best news app." Cool. I am now officially famous, and the time has come for me to buy a Lamborghini and drive it into a swimming pool. I suggest all the other nominees do the same. Congratulations to all of you!

Friday, July 24, 2009

das keyboard


I'm kind of picky about keyboards.

Most of the time when I'm looking for a keyboard, I have a hard time finding something I like. Most newer keyboards that cost more than about $15 are loaded down with extra crap I don't need, usually in lieu of keys that actually type well, or are located in a sensible place. Out of all of the keyboards I see on the shelves of my local MicroCenter, 90% are something I would be totally useless on. I really just want a keyboard with the basic keys (home/end/delete/etc.) in their normal places, so I don't have to re-learn their locations and slow my typing down. Most of the keyboards I see in stores have those keys in some kind of weird backwards jumble, usually to make room for a big volume knob or a "bass boost" button. Lame.

To get around that problem, I've tried a lot of the $15 keyboards I mentioned. Those are so cheap, their makers apparently see no point in trying to pimp them out. But they're also junk, so I'm basically buying a keyboard I'll end up replacing in 3 months with another junker.

So today, I broke the cycle and got a das keyboard. I should have done that a long time ago. This thing is cool. It's shiny black, and heavy enough to feel like it's worth actual money. Each key makes a satisfying "click" when I press it. I like using it. It's nice to type on. Really nice. In fact, the only reason I'm putting something on my blog about it is so I'll have an excuse to type on it.

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Pike's Peak is waiting



We're heading out tomorrow to Colorado Springs, CO. The kids are psyched, and so am I. I don't think I've been this excited about driving 11-12 hours in a long time. I think it's going to be fun.

I've been debating on whether to drive up the mountain or just take the cog train. I have a vehicle that's capable of making the trek, but I've noticed my love of heights has diminished a LOT since I was a kid. When I was 8 years old, my dad would pay me $5 to climb to the top of a 100' elevator leg and tighten bolts or whatever. I had no problem whatsoever with it. Now, though, I don't know. I probably wouldn't do it. I don't know if sitting behind the wheel of a car would make a difference. The last time I went there, I was about 10 years old and my dad drove us up. In front of us, a VW bus had to turn around because its engine didn't have enough power at that altitude to climb to the peak. The guy turned it around in the middle of the road, and my mom almost had a heart attack when his front end was hanging over the cliff. I think I'll probably do it. It's just a mountain. Not like it's going to reach out and slap me.

In other news: I have seen the Shamwow commercials. I made a mental note to buy one if presented with a convenient opportunity, as I am the kind of guy who can't live without towels that can soak up 100x their own weight in liquids. Today I saw a 2-back of mini Shamwows and bought them. My take: Save your $6. They're about like paper towels, honestly. I don't know if the "Sham" in the name is supposed to evoke "Chamois" or "Sham", but I'm betting it's the latter. As for the "wow" part, not so much. Maybe they should have called it "Sham... Meh."