Tuesday, June 21, 2011

"DuckDuckGo: Google Tracks You. We Don't."

Upstart search engine DuckDuckGo is an interesting alternative for those concerned or obsessed with privacy. They do not track, there is no membership database, and indeed there is no way to sign in even if you wanted to.

http://searchengineland.com/upstart-duckduckgo-challenges-google-with-strong-privacy-cool-tools-quackpot-name-62540

I've been using it, and I have found it to be as good as Google but with significantly less annoyances.

Try it here:

http://duckduckgo.com/

Monday, June 20, 2011

"Jackass" Killed Two Blocks From Chester County Hospital

When I was a kid, my father was Chief of Orthopedics at Chester County Hospital in West Chester, PA.

This morning, this news item caught my eye:

link here

"Jackass" was killed in a car crash about two blocks from Dear Old Dad's former place of employment.

Darwin can be a bitch.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Join the TSA - Get A Free Working Holiday In Honolulu

More black eyes for the TSA.

link

NOTE: It's good to know TSA employees can be fired for SOMETHING.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

The Perfect Diddle Stick?

Those who know me, know that my life is one big quest for the perfect....whatever.

The perfect wave (sometimes get 'em every day for a week straight here in the Hawai'ian Islands)

The perfect powder day (got about 15 of them last ski season between ski trips to Austria, Utah, British Columbia)

The perfect one-ski quiver (so far 188cm K2 Coomba, but the fun part is looking for something better)

The perfect racing bicycle (58.5 Serotta Legend Titanium)

The perfect airline (ha ha, just kidding)

Last week at Spruce Meadows' The National I asked NathanD, one of SM's audio guys, if I could borrow a small electronics screwdriver (aka "Diddle Stick"). He handed me a contraption of a type I'd never seen. After examining it and using it for a day, I'm thinking I may have found The Perfect Diddle Stick. Fortunately, they were available at the Home Depot across Route 22X from Spruce, so I bought a few to investigate Perfect Diddledom a bit further.

The device in question is called a "12 in 1 Mini Dial A Bit" ("12 en 1" in the Canadian government-mandated French on the label), by Fuller.

The heel stores 5 double-ended bits: various Torx (T6, T7, T8, T10, T15), various flat-blades (#1.5, #2.5), various mini-Philips (#0, #00, #000) and even two small Robertson bits (#0, #1). Another double-ended bit resides in the tip, yielding a total selection of 12. The bits are selected using a small thumb-wheel in the heel, which also keeps the unused bits from falling out of the handle.



The hilt is extendable. In short configuration, the diddle is 13cm (5 1/2"). Extended, it is 20 cm (8").



Shirt-pocket clip.

I think this Diddle Stick may become my go-to device for diddling.









Sunday, June 12, 2011

Spruce Meadows' Unique "Dual Slalom"

Two of Everything!


Two Finish Lines


Two Start Chutes



Two Rolex Clocks


A Horse Named "Bob's Your Uncle". For those of us who love Australia, this may be the best horse name, ever.


Close! Winner Gets a Checkmark. Margin of Victory: 0.124 second

Sunday, June 05, 2011

Coolest Mini-Keyboard EVER

I'm always looking for cool mini-keyboards to use in TV Production Trucks, where one is usually allotted about 20 square inches of desk space. Well, I may have found the ULTIMATE.


Integrated touchpad, rechargeable via USB, wired or wireless, back-lit, fits in a shirt pocket. Wouldn't want to write 20,000 lines of code with it, but for setting IP addresses and clicking a few buttons, can't beat it.

eBay.

$30.