Lilly came in to my office the other day. “Dad I have to go out now. Can you get the TV to record my favourite show in an hour”.
“Hmmmm????”, I replied in typical pre-occuipied father mode.
But she had an intensity in her eye that made me realize I ignored this six year old at my peril, despite my displike of leaving my desk while in the middle of solving a problem.
Happily, I didn’t have to get up from my chair. I just logged in to IceTV, found the program she was interested in, and told my PVR to record it via the website. My PVR is a High-Definition Beyonwiz DP-S1. It’s wireless, but I’ve wired it in to the house LAN so we can watch movies from our D-Link DNS323 1TB NAS
We also have an older Topfield 5000 PVRT. It’s only standard definition, but the cool thing about it is that it has an open programming interfacem , so a lot of people have written their own software to get it to do cool things. One application I added to it was ToppyPC by John De Angelis. It has a program called “TWIN” which adds a web page to your Topfield PVR. So you can set timers, and record shows, like IceTV lets you do with the Beyonwiz. ToppyPC needs another utility to run – an FTP server (ftp4t by Aldarin) which runs on a PC which I connect to the Topfield via a USB cable.
All this technology is both good and bad. It’s convenient, but I don’t get the exercise I need going up and down stairs to program the PVR!
But at least I don’t have an angry six-year-old to contend with!
I haven’t seen an empty inbox for years, and I love it! When it’s full I feel like I have the cares of the world on my shoulders. But when it’s empty, it’s like I’m making progress. Even if it might be illusory, I like that feeling.
So I’m going to persist in my strategy which can be described simply as:
If it’s junk, get rid of it.
If it’s someone elses problem, forward it.
If it’s worth reading, read it now, then delete it.
If it needs more info, request more info and delete it.
If it needs acting on, then act on it now, then delete it.
www.MoneyTracker.com.au is a great site that lets you track the location of your bank notes after you spend them.
Basically you go to the money tracker web site, and enter the serial number of any bank notes (cash) you have. Then you just spend them like you normally do. Eventually, someone else will get the note, enter it into money tracker which then notifies you of the new location of your bank note.
This fascinating idea was inspired by the US website http://wheresgeorge.com/ which lets you track U.S. bank notes.
Now all we need is some sort of machine that can help us get our money back after we spend it
Scince fiction writer and visionary Arthur C Clarke turned 90 on Sunday.
Best known for his blockbuster “2001: A Space Odyssey”, he also wrote numerous other books and short stories.
I’ve devoured most of his works since I was 11 years old, amd marvelled at Clarke’s optimistic vision of the future, and what we could achieve as a species. He made the future exciting. I couldn’t wait for it to happen, and still can’t
I hope you stay around till you’re at least 100, Sir Arthur. We need more optimistic vision like yours.
A while ago I posted my thoughts about “The Virus of Ideas”.
Since then I’ve been lucky enough to discover the work of Richard Dawkins. His 1991 article “Viruses of the Mind” explains the concept of an idea being analogous to a virus that infects the mind.
He says:
Like computer viruses, successful mind viruses will tend to be hard for their victims to detect. If you are the victim of one, the chances are that you won’t know it, and may even vigorously deny it. Accepting that a virus might be difficult to detect in your own mind, what tell-tale signs might you look out for? I shall answer by imaging how a medical textbook might describe the typical symptoms of a sufferer (arbitrarily assumed to be male).
It’s worth reading his description of those symptoms. Check out his article if you get a chance – especially if you think you might have been infected
Bell’s Scrub is the only remaing parcel of virgin lowland vine rainforest in the Pine Rivers district.
Some of the stunning late afternoon views in my street.
Fleeting glimpses of childhood on the North Pine River.
Christmas Beetle.
Lightning in the Gum Trees.
Ebert Family Vineyard.
Stephen Lawn Park.
Lake Samsonvale.
South Pine River near the site of the old Normanby Rum Distillery.
Yebri Creek.
Sunset on the North Pine River.
Lake Kurwongbah.
