FYI/DIY

I saw it on your keyboard

17 August, 2012 (12:00) | FYI/DIY

The Dvorak keyboard is one of those examples of people not really knowing what’s good for them.  The Dvorak keyboard allows for more efficient use of the arrangement of keys on a keyboard which then improves speed.  It certainly has a strong underground following, but it would seem that there are power in numbers and people are resistant to change.  All major operating systems are compatible with the keyboard layout, it would just take getting one and learning how to use it.

Dvorak did a boat load of research on the keyboard to prove it’s significance, but it just hasn’t caught on over the past…80 years?  I knew a few friends online and in college that used one, but I’m willing to bet it was just a novelty and they’re back to their QWERTY now.

 

Poll the People

I see plenty of clothes that I like but I won’t go anywhere nice for a while

15 August, 2012 (12:00) | Poll the People

How old is the oldest article of clothing you own, that you’d still consider “in rotation”?  There’s certainly some old Tshirts we pull out to paint in, but I’m talking about clothes you’d consider wearing in public.  I might even consider what you work out in.  I have a few tshirts I’ve had since 8th or 9th grade…that’s over 15 years!

 

How old is your oldest item of clothing?

View Results

Hall's Rules of Social Order

Hall’s Rule of Social Order – #90

13 August, 2012 (12:00) | Hall's Rules of Social Order

Give generously.

 

I’m not talking [just] monetarily.  I am talking about your stuff, your time, your work, your abilities.  Sometimes I take flak about how I will sell anything I own.  It’s true, if I’m not using it, I don’t want it taking up space.  If someone else would use it, all the better.  The fact is, I’d giving anything I’d sell away for free, but no one seems to want it.

Maybe I’m doing it wrong, but when I drop off to Goodwill, I don’t ask for a receipt.  It’s not even tied into the Bible saying to give anonymously.  It’s about feeling guilty for reporting giving on taxes.  I’m giving because I want to give!   I don’t want anything in return.

To quote C.S. Lewis, ”I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare…If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us,… they are too small.  There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditures excludes them.”

LEGO© Creations

LEGO augmented reality

10 August, 2012 (12:00) | LEGO© Creations

If you haven’t been into a LEGO store in the past year or two, you probably haven’t seen the augmented reality technology they put into their boxes.  All you have to do is take a box off the shelf, walk it over to a special television screen with a scanner on top of it and it will virtually build the set and animate it on the box surface displayed on the TV screen.  Maybe that doesn’t come over well in text…here’s a video.  I’ve seen similar animation and technology come out of Topps with their baseball cards.

 

More info here:

http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/18/legos-augmented-reality-at-idf-eyes-on-video/

Pittsburgh

When the lights go out in your building, I will call you saying, “Are you sleeping yet?”

8 August, 2012 (12:00) | Pittsburgh

On July 4th, 2012, Gulf Tower debuted the new light display on the top of the building.  Many people didn’t realize that the light had indicated the weather since the 1970s, and it was all controlled manually by the receptionist.  There’s a Rick Sebak documentary that highlights it well.  Along with the weather, the new LED lights will be able to be animated for celebrations or any other kind of information.  Here’s what the colors mean now:

 

 

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Tower#Lighting

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/gulf-tower-beacon-to-rekindle-pittsburgh-skyline-643404/

 

Hall's Rules of Social Order

Hall’s Rule of Social Order – #179

6 August, 2012 (12:00) | Hall's Rules of Social Order

Don’t replace things that aren’t broken.

You don’t need that flat screen TV if you have a perfectly fine TV that is meeting your needs.  only upgrade when something is broken or lacking necessary functionality.  If you’ve ever plated the video game The Sims, think about all the money you wasted in furniture buying through the tiers of upgrades.  It’s smarter just to save up and buy what you really want.