Wednesday, January 31, 2007

MLS on your PDA

RULDS2? Shiblon Software has put together a great utility called MyWard to convert data from MLS onto a PDA. If these acronyms mean anything to you, you'll probably want to check it out.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Great short story

The Last Question is a great science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. In his own words:

"This is by far my favorite story of all those I have written.
After all, I undertook to tell several trillion years of human history in the space of a short story and I leave it to you as to how well I succeeded. I also undertook another task, but I won't tell you what that was lest l spoil the story for you.
It is a curious fact that innumerable readers have asked me if I wrote this story. They seem never to remember the title of the story or (for sure) the author, except for the vague thought it might be me. But, of course, they never forget the story itself especially the ending. The idea seems to drown out everything -- and I'm satisfied that it should.
"

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Free LDS Music

If you like uplifting music and free stuff, check out Liahona.net. Most songs are either hymns or created by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The music (mp3 format) is provided free of charge for non-commercial use.

Friday, January 26, 2007

Great picture

CNET News posted a photo archive titled "In the Shadow of Star Wars" of various Star Wars related memorabilia found at the Industrial Light and Magic company headquarters. The Jar-Jar Binks in carbonite is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.

Looking for a Digital Camera?

With all the options available on digital cameras these days, you need to consult an expert before you buy. DigitalCameraInfo.com has thorough reviews and testing along with useful guides to help weed through all the features.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

2nd Job? Or 1st Job?

It seems like the virtual economy just won't go away. CNNMoney is reporting that job opportunities and interviews are growing rapidly within 2nd Life. As more and more money is changing hands within the game, jobs are becoming more numerous and people are investing more and more time into developing their virtual businesses.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Potential

This autistic man shows the human brain's potential for memorization. I think it would take a couple millenia of brain exercises just to help me remember where I put my keys... wait, what was I saying?

Friday, January 19, 2007

Pandora Quick Mix

I've decided that I really like Pandora to discover new music. I built a little Quick Mix based on Jim Brickman, Jim Schmidt, and Lorie Line as my favorite artists. If you like new age piano music this is a great mix to start exploring new artists and songs.

National Archives Online

According to a recent USAToday article, the National Archives are steadily offering more and more public records in a digital format. The website is still a bit difficult to navigate, but a great place to start is the America's Historical Documents page.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

MLK day trip


We took advantage of the holiday to see some sites in downtown DC. On top is the room where Lincoln passed away after being shot. The one on bottom is Ford's Theatre, the site of the assassination attempt by John Wilkes Booth. I never realized before that the surrender of General Lee (April 9, 1865) and the assassination (April 14, 1865) came so close together.
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Tuesday, January 16, 2007

The case for Wii fitness

A blogger recently performed an experiment to see if the Nintendo Wii could really deliver on the claim of better fitness by playing video games. Bottom line results seem to indicate that his 30-minutes a day made a difference as he lost 9 lbs. and 2.5" from his waist in 6 weeks.

This looks like a fun way to exercise. Of course, any decent diet and exercise program must include the disclaimer "actual results may vary".

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Home computer protection

If you have little ones, Toddler Keys is a great way to both entertain your child and protect your home computer from curious fingers. It has a fairly intuititve interface and some fun options.

The five dollar lawn

There is a wonderful story about a boy learning the intangible benefits of working hard and doing a job well titled "The Countess and the Impossible" by Richard Thurman. The story appeared in the Reader's Digest in 1958. Apparently, many people have had trouble locating it online. I found it by searching for the term "five dollar lawn" in the Search only Conference Talks box on the search page of lds.org. The result is an address by Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone titled "The Gospel of Jesus Christ Is the Golden Door" in which the story appears to be quoted in full.

You can also view the story quoted in full by clicking on the comments for this post.

Friday, January 05, 2007

Signs in the heavens?

Offbeat news on CNN this morning about the falling sky, but then again we've been promised "great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. " (Luke 21:11)

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Think your information is safe?

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has posted a chronology of data breaches since 2005. Just another way to help us all realize how insecure our information really is.