preppydude's posterous http://preppydude.posterous.com Dark & Preppy... It's not just a color, it's an attitude posterous.com Fri, 24 Jun 2011 08:29:44 -0700 Misty Scentilizers uncork smells for MP3 tunes http://preppydude.posterous.com/misty-scentilizers-uncork-smells-for-mp3-tune http://preppydude.posterous.com/misty-scentilizers-uncork-smells-for-mp3-tune
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 by Tim Hornyak


  Want more of a sensory experience while chilling to music on your iPod? Scentilizer is a series of diffusers that puff out smells and mist along with an LED display while you're listening.

The seven units available from Serene House come in various shapes and sizes. They emit fragrant vapors by combining essential oils and water and vibrating at a frequency of 1.70KHz.

It might be an ideal accessory for lava lamp lovers. Or Barry White fans.

Models such as the Rainbow ($249.95, above) have built-in speakers and a selection of installed music, but you can also hook up your MP3 player to them.

Scentilizers will debut at the New York International Gift Fair in August and will range from $119.95 to $299.95. You can also get them online now at the Serene House Web site.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:58:07 -0700 #MarvelStudios looking for "A Few Good Men" in #Ohio http://preppydude.posterous.com/marvelstudios-looking-for-a-few-good-men-in-o http://preppydude.posterous.com/marvelstudios-looking-for-a-few-good-men-in-o
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Marvel Studios will be filming portions of "The Avengers" in Wilmington,
Ohio and is looking for interested Wright-Patterson Airmen to appear as
extras.  They are looking for approximately 50 males to portray Navy Carrier
deck crew, Carrier maintenance crew and a few pilots.  The scenes will be
shot Aug. 1-4 in Wilmington on a simulated Aircraft Carrier deck.

The film is based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name and
stars Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson,
Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo and Cobie Smulders.  It is
due to release in May 2012.

Extras will be paid $80 for 8 hours and time & 1/2 after 8 hours.  Catered
meals are included.  If you're asked to do anything beyond extra work, your
pay will be adjusted.

This film is a DoD-supported film via the U.S. Army Entertainment Office,
but your participation is purely voluntary.  You must have your supervisor's
permission, fill out the IMT AF Form 3902 for Off-Duty Employment and be in
leave status.  Permissive TDY is not authorized.

If you are interested, send the following information to the Marvel Extras
Casting e-mail:  marvel.group.hug@gmail.com.

Please include:

*CURRENT picture

*name

*phone # (s)

*age

*height & weight

*jacket size

*shirt neck & sleeve

*pant waist & inseam

*shoe

*military status/base & any special skills/training

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Sun, 19 Jun 2011 15:51:24 -0700 Preppy Wagon #1 & #2 http://preppydude.posterous.com/preppy-wagon-1-2 http://preppydude.posterous.com/preppy-wagon-1-2

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Sat, 28 May 2011 08:23:52 -0700 Doggie photos! @LoicChien at maison du très bon goût http://preppydude.posterous.com/doggie-photos-loicchien-at-maison-du-tres-bon http://preppydude.posterous.com/doggie-photos-loicchien-at-maison-du-tres-bon

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Thu, 12 May 2011 06:35:41 -0700 Cooking with L'Auberge #Dayton #ZinfullyDelicious http://preppydude.posterous.com/cooking-with-lauberge-dayton-zinfullydeliciou http://preppydude.posterous.com/cooking-with-lauberge-dayton-zinfullydeliciou
The cuisine of the Pacific Rim will be the topic of our first session on May 18th. Two weeks later, on June 1st, our class will feature Old and New World European favorites.
Chef David Lease will host the classes on the upper floor of l’Auberge starting at 11:30. You will want to be here first to get the best seat! Following class with Chef Lease, a 3-course Grand Luncheon will be served in the fabulous Main Dining Room featuring recipes from your class. During lunch, Sommelier Brian DeMarke will be teaching you how to pair these and future recipes with the best wines from around the world.
Please note, the price of $85 for one class or $150 for the combination of both classes will include the lessons by Chef Lease and Mr. DeMarke, your 3-course lunch, a glass of wine, signed recipes, and tax and gratuity. In addition, you will also receive a special S.O.S. telephone number, the direct line to Chef Lease, in case you need help while cooking at home. As a special secret bonus, you can purchase any hard-to-find ingredients used in our class recipes at wholesale cost.
Also, Spring has finally arrived and with it, comes the season’s best culinary offerings. We are featuring truffles, Hudson Valley foie gras, Maryland softshell crabs, morels, Alaskan halibut and of course our favorite: Domestic, Russian, and Chinese caviar, only available at l’Auberge!
We look forward to seeing (and cooking with) you soon!

Fine_dining_dayton_ohio

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Mon, 25 Apr 2011 15:54:49 -0700 Real life "Pet Scan" as opposed to P.E.T. scans #CancerNews http://preppydude.posterous.com/real-life-pet-scan-as-opposed-to-pet-scans-ca http://preppydude.posterous.com/real-life-pet-scan-as-opposed-to-pet-scans-ca
17dog

Kobi achieved high marks in a cancer-detection experiment conducted at the Pine Street Clinic in San Anselmo, Calif.

By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
   
   In the small world of people who train dogs to sniff cancer, a little-known Northern California clinic has made a big claim: that it has trained five dogs - three Labradors and two Portuguese water dogs - to detect lung cancer in the breath of cancer sufferers with 99 percent accuracy.

The study was based on well-established concepts. It has been known since the 80's that tumors exude tiny amounts of alkanes and benzene derivatives not found in healthy tissue.

Other researchers have shown that dogs, whose noses can pick up odors in the low parts-per-billion range, can be trained to detect skin cancers or react differently to dried urine from healthy people and those with bladder cancer, but never with such remarkable consistency.

The near-perfection in the clinic's study, as Dr. Donald Berry, the chairman of biostatistics at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, put it, "is off the charts: there are no laboratory tests as good as this, not Pap tests, notdiabetes tests, nothing."

As a result, he and other cancer experts say they are skeptical, but intrigued. Michael McCulloch, research director for the Pine Street Foundation in Marin County, Calif., and the lead researcher on the study, acknowledged that the results seemed too good to be true. (For breast cancer, with a smaller number of samples, the dogs were right about 88 percent of the time with almost no false positives, which compares favorably to mammograms.)

"Yes, we were astounded, as well," Mr. McCulloch said. "And that's why it needs to be replicated with other dogs, plus chemical analysis of what's in the breath."

He is applying for National Science Foundation grants to try just that, he said. The fact that the study was carried out by a clinic supported by the Pine Street Foundation that combines traditional chemotherapy with acupuncture and herbal medicine raised suspicions, as did the fact that it is to be published by a little-known journal, Integrative Cancer Therapies. (The journal published it online last year.)

But experts who read the study could not find any obvious fatal flaw in its methodology, and the idea that dogs can detect cancer is "not crazy at all," said Dr. Ted Gansler, director of medical content in health information for the American Cancer Society. "It's biologically plausible," he said, "but there has to be a lot more study and confirmation of effectiveness."

Dr. Berry, too, was interested but suspicious. "If true, it's huge," he said. "Which is one reason to be skeptical."

Dr. Berry noted, half-jokingly, that Gregor Mendel, the 19th-century discoverer of the laws of genetics, also reported data on his crossbreeding of green and yellow peas that was too good to be true: he repeatedly came up with the perfect 3-1 ratios he predicted. "But we've forgiven Mendel and his gardener," Dr. Berry added, "because his theory turned out to be right."

In Mr. McCulloch's study, the five dogs, borrowed from owners and Guide Dogs for the Blind, were trained as if detecting bombs. They repeatedly heard a clicker and got a treat when they found a desired odor in many identical smelling spots.

The clinic collected breath samples in plastic tubes filled with polypropylene wool from 55 people just after biopsies found lung cancer and from 31 patients with breast cancer, as well as from 83 healthy volunteers.

The tubes were numbered, and then placed in plastic boxes and presented to the dogs, five at a time. If the dog smelled cancer, it was supposed to sit.

For breath from lung cancer patients, Mr. McCulloch reported, the dogs correctly sat 564 times and incorrectly 10 times. (By adjusting for other factors, the researchers determined the accuracy rate at 99 percent.)

For the breath from healthy patients, they sat 4 times and did not sit 708 times.

Experts who read the study raised various objections: The smells of chemotherapy orsmoking would be clues, they said. Or the healthy breath samples could have been collected in a different room on different days. Or the dogs could pick up subtle cues - like the tiny, unintentional movements of observers picked up by Clever Hans, the 19th-century "counting horse," as he neared a correct answer. But Mr. McCulloch said cancer patients who had begun chemotherapy were excluded, smokers were included in both groups and the breath samples were collected in the same rooms on the same days. The tubes were numbered elsewhere, he said, and the only assistant who knew which samples were cancerous was out of the room while the dogs were working.

"The fact that dogs did this is kind of beside the point," he said. "What this proved is that there are detectable differences in the breath of cancer patients. Now technology has to rise to that challenge."

The next step, he said, will be to analyze breath samples with a gas chromatograph to figure out exactly which mixes of chemicals the dogs are reacting to.

Even if the dogs are accurate in repeat experiments, Dr. Gansler of the American Cancer Society said, it will be useful only as a preliminary scan. "It's not like someone would start chemotherapy based on a dog test," he said. "They'd still get a biopsy."

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Sun, 24 Apr 2011 10:39:36 -0700 Teen denies crime, but admits it on Facebook #DarwinAwardWinner http://preppydude.posterous.com/teen-denies-crime-but-admits-it-on-facebook-d http://preppydude.posterous.com/teen-denies-crime-but-admits-it-on-facebook-d
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  By Chris Matyszczyk
   

    I am thinking of writing a book about all the faux pas people have committed on Facebook.

Here's another to add to my already large collection of stories for the book, provisionally entitled: "Face It, I'm a Half-wit."

 

 According to the U.K.'s Portsmouth News, a 16-year-old with a clearly refined sense of humor decided to block all the water passages in a restroom at a public library.

Using all of the ingenuity at his disposal, he shoved toilet paper down the sinkholes and then turned on all the taps.

 Being socially conscious, he did this late in the evening, so that water would happily pour away all night. Oddly, more than $200,000 worth of damage ensued from his amusement.

Naturally, he pleaded not guilty. This was until the prosecutor, who, having done what so many prosecutors do these days, showed that he had trawled Facebook for the accused's inner musings.

It seems that, though he had publicly protested his innocence, the accused had answered a question on Facebook as to whether he might be guilty. His reply: "Kind of, yeah. I've kept it to myself. A few mates know."

Clearly, these are good mates, the kind that don't rat out their buddies. Unfortunately, perhaps they might have to do a little work on their privacy settings.

The library was shut for five months, and the judge reportedly made it clear that the teen might also be shut away--in jail.

So, please, everyone. Let's keep on doing silly things on Facebook. Let's keep on admitting affairs, criticizing our bosses, mocking the passengers on our aircraft. A writer needs inspiration, you know. There's never enough.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Fri, 22 Apr 2011 18:19:04 -0700 US Army developing #Android-based smartphone framework and apps http://preppydude.posterous.com/us-army-developing-android-based-smartphone-f http://preppydude.posterous.com/us-army-developing-android-based-smartphone-f
Www

By Amar Toor  

  
    The US Army is calling upon Android app developers to help make military life a little less stressful -- and, perhaps, a lot safer. Under a new Army framework known as the Mobile/Handheld Computing Environment (CE), third-party developers will be able to create and submit tactical Android apps, using the military's CE Product Developer's Kit. The framework, originally prototyped by the folks over at MITRE, represents the latest phase in the Army's ongoing campaign to incorporate smartphone technology on the battlefield. Any app operating under the CE system will be interoperable across all command systems, and, as you'd expect, will be tightly secured. The kit won't be released to developers until July, but the Army has already begun tinkering with its baseline suite of Mission Command apps, which includes tools designed to facilitate mapping, blue force tracking, and Tactical Ground Reporting. On the hardware side of the equation, the Army is planning to deploy a new handheld known as the Joint Battle Command-Platform, or JBC-P. The two-pound JBC-P is essentially a military-friendly smartphone designed to run on a variety of existing radio networks, while supporting the full suite of forthcoming apps. The JBC-P will be tested this October, and will likely be issued on a wider basis in 2013.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Wed, 20 Apr 2011 05:09:57 -0700 #AES buying #DP&L (They "promise" to keep DP&L HQ based in #Dayton for at least two years) http://preppydude.posterous.com/aes-buying-dpl-they-promise-to-keep-dpl-hq-ba http://preppydude.posterous.com/aes-buying-dpl-they-promise-to-keep-dpl-hq-ba
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   More consolidation in the power sector as AES buys DPL for $3.5 billion 

  DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- AES Corp. will buy the regional power company DPL Inc. for about $3.5 billion in cash, the companies said Wednesday, accelerating a consolidation in the industry that is already well under way.

AES is just the latest energy company attempting to bulk up with rising costs from new environmental regulations on the horizon. The recession has also weakened some utilities because major customers like industrial plants and factories have shut down.

AES said Wednesday that it will pay $30 per share for the regional energy company based in Ohio, which is an 8.7 percent premium to DPL's closing stock price of $27.59.

"We are concentrating our growth efforts in a few key markets, including the U.S. utility sector, where we see ways to leverage our global platform of 40,500 megawatts and 11.5 million utility customers," AES President and CEO Paul Hanrahan said.

The Virginia company joins Duke Energy Corp. and others in a race to grow bigger through acquisitions.

Duke earlier this year announced that it would buyout out its rival in North Carolina, Progress Energy Inc., for $13.7 billion in an all-stock deal. That would give Duke an unrivaled number of customers, power capacity and market value.

In November, PPL Corp. bought Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities from Germany's E.On. Also last year, First Energy Corp. agreed to acquire Allegheny Energy Inc. while Northeast Utilities agreed to buy NStar.

The challenges facing utilities are daunting.

Just this week, the Supreme Court heard arguments over whether six states, New York City and several conservation groups could sue electric utilities, the five largest emitters of carbon dioxide in the United States, in an effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

The defendants in that case are American Electric Power Co. of Ohio, Southern Co. Inc. of Georgia, and Xcel Energy Inc. of Minnesota, and Cinergy Co., which is now part of Duke Energy.

The federal Tennessee Valley Authority is also a defendant.

While the justices appeared skeptical about the case, power companies are already spending millions to reduce emissions and will likely be better able to handle the costs by becoming bigger.

Under terms of the DPL transaction, subsidiary Dayton Power and Light Co. will keep its name and stay headquartered in Dayton, Ohio for at least two years after the acquisition. AES is based in Arlington, Va.

DPL's annual shareholders meeting, set for April 27, has been postponed.

Both companies' boards have unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close in the next six to nine months. The transaction still needs DPL shareholder approval, as well as certain regulatory approvals, including those from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Wed, 20 Apr 2011 04:50:28 -0700 #Moleskine Turns #iOS Devices into Classic Journals http://preppydude.posterous.com/moleskine-turns-ios-devices-into-classic-jour http://preppydude.posterous.com/moleskine-turns-ios-devices-into-classic-jour
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   By Matthew Rogers

  iOS: Free Moleskine app for iOS devices allows iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad users to have a digital version of the classic leather-bound journal. Users can add images, sketches, and geotags to their notes, as well as share them with friends through social networks and email.

Moleskine notebooks are beyond popular these days, so it's no surprise that they've gone digital. While the originals could probably never be truly replaced, the app has a lot going for it — like geo-tags and the ability to use your device's camera. It also allows the user to choose whether a note should use lined, plain, or squared "paper," and includes a sketching tool.

Saved photos and other images can be used in notes, or taken on the spot and inserted. They can be resized quickly, and users can add or remove them to blocks of text without worrying about formatting around them since it's automatic. It's also been made with stylus-specific features, for people who want it to feel just a bit more like the real thing.

For users who like to show off their journaling skills, the app can share notes through email, Twitter and Facebook.

The interface is as easy on the eyes as you'd expect, coming from Moleskine, but it's not the easiest to use. The help tool is basically a batch of images that look like schematics, and doubles as the welcome screen that's shown the first time you open the app. There are no labels or hints to be found that make navigation easy or obvious. There isn't a whole lot to the app, but what is there can be a bit hard to find. Forgiving that, it's definitely presented in a very Moleskine-like fashion.

The Moleskine app is free to download and is compatible with the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch running iOS 4.2 or later, but it may run pretty slow on older devices (like a 2nd generation iPod touch, or an iPhone 3G).

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Wed, 20 Apr 2011 04:33:42 -0700 Big Brother is alive and well in Michigan and the ACLU blows the whistle ? http://preppydude.posterous.com/big-brother-is-alive-and-well-in-michigan-and http://preppydude.posterous.com/big-brother-is-alive-and-well-in-michigan-and
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      ACLU: Michigan cops stealing drivers' phone data

             by 

     

      The Michigan State Police have started using handheld machines called "extraction devices" to download personal information from motorists they pull over, even if they're not suspected of any crime. Naturally, the ACLU has a problem with this.

The devices, sold by a company called Cellebrite, can download text messages, photos, video, and even GPS data from most brands of cell phones. The handheld machines have various interfaces to work with different models and can even bypass security passwords and access some information.

The problem as the ACLU sees it, is that accessing a citizen's private phone information when there's no probable cause creates a violation of the Constitution's 4th Amendment, which protects us against unreasonable searches and seizures.

To that end, it's petitioning the MSP to turn over information about its use of the devices under the Freedom of Information Act. The MSP said it's happy to comply, that is, if the ACLU provides them with a processing fee in excess of $500,000. That's more than $100,000 for each of the five devices the MSP says it has in use.

The ACLU, for its part, says that the fee is odious, and that a public policing agency has a duty to its citizens to be open. "This should be something that they are handing over freely, and that they should be more than happy to share with the public--the routines and the guidelines that they follow," Mark Fancher, an attorney for the ACLU, told Detroit's WDIV.

As of yet there's no suit, but one is likely if the MSP sticks to its proverbial guns and refuses to hand over information about how it's using the cell phone snooping devices, without being first paid off. If litigation does come, the outcome may set a precedent that would have far-reaching effects, and might make a device that most of us carry a pocket battleground in the war of digital privacy.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:20:11 -0700 The Collector concept turns unused microSD cards into a refillable thumb drive #Genius http://preppydude.posterous.com/the-collector-concept-turns-unused-microsd-ca http://preppydude.posterous.com/the-collector-concept-turns-unused-microsd-ca
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  By Terrence O'Brien
  Digging through our drawers here at Engadget there is one thing we're clearly not in desperate need of: USB flash drives. We also happen to have a plethora of microSD cards in 1GB an 2GB sizes, left over from the days when picking a smartphone meant Windows Mobile or BlackBerry. This concept USB drive, dubbed The Collector, could potentially solve our conundrum by allowing us to toss all those thumb drives and find a use for our now homeless microSD chips. The Collector wouldn't have any storage of its own, instead you'd slip up to three microSD cards into it and, when full, simply swap them out for more. It would also combine your smaller chunks of storage into a single block, so those three 2GB scraps would become a slightly less useless 6GB drive. Of course, keeping that pile of microSD cards (now bound by common data) organized might actually be a bigger headache than rifling through your drawers looking for that OFWGKTA mixtape you downloaded so many months ago.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Tue, 12 Apr 2011 19:39:18 -0700 Adobe finds another 'critical' flaw in Flash, Steve Jobs smiles smugly By Terrence O'Brien http://preppydude.posterous.com/adobe-finds-another-critical-flaw-in-flash-st http://preppydude.posterous.com/adobe-finds-another-critical-flaw-in-flash-st
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  Hey, guess what? Adobe has found yet another serious security flaw in Flash. We can already hear the iOS fanboys warming up their commenting fingers. The vulnerability affects all platforms, including Android, though only attacks on Windows have been seen in the wild so far. Just like last month's exploit, this one is spreading via malicious .swf files embedded in Office documents, only this time it's Word instead of Excel being targeted (a hacker's gotta keep it fresh, after all). Once again Reader and Acrobat are also vulnerable, but attacks can be thwarted using Reader's Protected Mode. When exactly Adobe plans on plugging this hole is anyone's guess, so when a deposed Nigerian prince tells you about the fabulous sum of money he'd like you to transfer, you'll have yet another reason not to open the Office attachments in his email.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Sun, 10 Apr 2011 13:46:58 -0700 Brunch #Sidebar #Dayton @ShanaDouglas @BrainyBrownGirl ZinfullyDelicious™ http://preppydude.posterous.com/brunch-sidebar-dayton-shanadouglas-brainybrow http://preppydude.posterous.com/brunch-sidebar-dayton-shanadouglas-brainybrow -Baked Brie
-Shrimp Omelette
-Bacon! (semi out of focus)

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See the full gallery on Posterous

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Thu, 07 Apr 2011 06:43:14 -0700 When Not to #Google by Kevin Purdy http://preppydude.posterous.com/when-not-to-google-by-kevin-purdy http://preppydude.posterous.com/when-not-to-google-by-kevin-purdy
When_not_to_google

       Searches You’re Better Off Making Elsewhere


 Kevin Purdy — 

For the searching you do every day, go ahead and use the powerful, convenient, ever-improving Google. But for certain queries, other search engines are significantly better. Let's dig into the searches you're better off making at engines other than Google.

Google's good at a lot of things, but it also has to serve a lot of interests. Any relatively modern search engine knows that, in order to compete and differentiate, it has to do something different, something better, or something special, aside from general "katy perry video" searches. Here are the best search engines for tackling specific types of search:

DuckDuckGo: Quick Site Searches, Programming, and Totally Anonymous Searching

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Startup search engine DuckDuckGo (DDG for short) spells it out, right on their front page: "We don't track you!" And they're serious about that. Their privacy policy is an explainer and affirmation of user rights, written in plain English. The privacy settings allow you to get granular about what other sites see when you arrive from DDG, and if you're using the TOR network for proxy privacy, DuckDuckGo is running its own helper server to provide total search security, end to end.

That's nice, but what does DuckDuckGo do? It "bangs." Bang, as in the term programmers use to refer to exclamation marks. By putting an exclamation in front of a site or resource you want to search, you can quickly search on that site from DuckDuckGo, whether you know how that search works or not. Searching !lifehacker linux uses our own site's search engine to look up Linux posts (though you can shorten it to !lh, too). !amazon or !a triggers a product search on Amazon.com, and !yt a YouTube search. But you can loosely shoot from the hip and hit an astounding number of sites: !economist, !weather Boulder,!retailmenot green mountain coffee, and so on. With DuckDuckGo installed as a quick search option in your browser, it's much easier to search a site this way than to type outsite:economist.com libya and hunt through results.

There are lots of neat "bangs" to dig through, but take special note, programmers and general nerd practitioners: there are a lot of computer and code resources here. !python,!wpplugins, !github—the list goes on. In fact, DDG even includes the other search engines we've referenced here in its bangs. If you really were looking for a new default search engine, we could see DuckDuckGo as a viable option—if only for the sincere convenience of, say, searching the Android Market with !market angry birds.

Blekko: Cruft-Free Results and Very Specific Things

Even after make a pretty big change to filter "content farms,", searching Google for anything that might be remotely popular, especially in the form of a how-to or question, continues to involve sorting through varying versions of on-demand writing. Some of it is decent, even helpful; much of it looks the same, though, and you often find yourself wishing for more authoritative voice.

Enter Blekko. On its own, Blekko narrows down your search terms and filters out a lot of the ad-filled results you might come across. Search on a "hot" topic, like travel, product reviews, or song lyrics, and Blekko automatically filters out sites that seem to exist mostly to capture traffic without providing too much new information. Search in the health field, and the results are narrowed down to a set of about 75 sites that Blekko's editors trust.


So let's say you're an increasingly ridiculous home coffee enthusiast (ahem), and you want to make at home the latte foam "art" you'll see in coffee shops. Lots of web sites are anticipating this search. The first three results from Google, from earlier this week, are shown above: the first result is a WikiHow article, the second a box of YouTube videos, and the third from RateMyRosetta.com, where baristas and other foam-art enthusiasts can, well, rate each others' leafy designs.


Blekko's results are at left here, and they're oriented more toward independent sites, by way of eliminating many of the less subtle grabs for your clicks. By way of disclosure, a Lifehacker post shows up as the second result, but I picked the how to make latte art search at random, from my brain.

When Not to Google: Searches You're Better Off Making ElsewhereIt's helpful to be able to skip the search-savvy sites when you're looking for deeper knowledge. It's also helpful to be able to explain a bit more clearly what you're looking for. Google has modifiers for "must have" (kennedys +kennebunkport) and "not" (kennedys -"dead kennedys"), but you have to guess at them ahead of time. Let's imagine you just finished watching Blade Runner for the first time (really?), and you're now keen on learning how far we've come in making robots that look and act like humans—androids. But any search on "android" these days is chock full of apps, reviews, and news about Google's mobile phone OS. Blekko knows this, or at least has seen it happen, so as you type in "android," you're given a batch of "slashes" you can add to your search to narrow it down. "android /robotics" popped up during my Blekko test, and did a good job of (mostly) winnowing my search down to items related to human/robot hybrids.

Wolfram Alpha: Data, Statistics, Research, and "I Wonder"

There's no simple way to explain what Wolfram Alpha does, other than to say it tries to make the entirety of human knowledge into solvable equations—simple, huh? It's a big task, but Wolfram Alpha quietly does some pretty amazing things with the unique data sets it can rummage through. It's best thought of as a place to ask questions, and wonder about numbers, percentages, and other left brain ideas.

Click images below for a larger, more clear view.

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If you "asked" Google about how likely the average United Airlines flight was on time, versus Southwest Airlines, the top result is likely to be a blog post that features "Southwest vs. United Airlines" in its title, but relates to television advertising and branding. Ask Wolfram Alpha, and the first result considers "United Airlines" and "Southwest Airlines" as they exist on the stock market—UAUA vs. LUV. Neat, but not exactly what we wanted. But just under the search, Wolfram asks if you'd like to see your "United Airlines" as an airline. Click it and see.

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Now we're talking. Wolfram Alpha, culling data from nearly a dozen aviation sources, puts together a handy chart showing the on-time performance of United versus Southwest—along with enough statistics and comparisons to basically write an Aviation Business 101 paper by itself. At the bottom of the box, you can click to see Wolfram's sources, and download a PDF of the data.

You have to spend some time with Wolfram to get a sense of what it's capable of. Pretty much every Lifehacker editor has come across something unique and helpful it can do and written about it. A short, but by no means comprehensive, list would include:

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Wed, 06 Apr 2011 18:20:29 -0700 #Kabuki #Sushi http://preppydude.posterous.com/kabuki-sushi http://preppydude.posterous.com/kabuki-sushi

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Tue, 05 Apr 2011 19:09:10 -0700 Moto Droid Bionic vs iPhone4 vs HTC Thunderbolt #Verizon http://preppydude.posterous.com/moto-droid-bionic-vs-iphone4-vs-htc-thunderbo http://preppydude.posterous.com/moto-droid-bionic-vs-iphone4-vs-htc-thunderbo

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:24:09 -0700 Review of SPB Shell 3D for #Android http://preppydude.posterous.com/review-of-spb-shell-3d-for-android http://preppydude.posterous.com/review-of-spb-shell-3d-for-android
  As we all know, the beauty of Android stems from the fact that you get a wide variety of choices when it comes to devices and interface, though the latter can sometimes be a double-edged sword. Luckily, users who are fed up with their bloated Android UI but don't want to (or can't) mess around with ROMs now have another easy solution. Joining the handful of Android launchers is SPB's Shell 3D app, which installs as a replacement (but removable) home screen that comes with some nifty widgets (radio switches, backlight dimmer, weather forecast with a 3D chart, clock with over 60 skins, world time with a 3D globe, etc.) and resizeable folders. 

As you can see above, the highlight of the show here is a cool-looking 3D carousel for switching between up to 16 panels, and you can trigger it by either tapping or horizontally dragging the bottom-center button. Whilst in carousel mode, you can also rearrange the panels, change their colors, or flick away excess panels. All of this required no manual reading on our end, so it's safe to say that this is a pretty intuitive app. Read on to see what the performance is like.

We've been playing with Shell 3D on our Xperia Play, Nexus S, and Dell Venue for a few days, and we're still surprised by its butter-like smoothness -- SPB claims that the app is rendered consistently at 60fps on most modern Android devices. The only time we see this app hiccup is when we throw in the Pictures panel (for displaying Flickr's pictures of the day), so while this feature is a nice touch, we tend to keep it tucked away for minimal irritation. Other than that, we enjoy casually spinning the carousel or flicking between the panels for the subtle 3D transition effect, without significantly affecting battery life as well.

As for the app list, it's simply a vertical scrolling list with springy effects when you hit the top or bottom, but there's also a nice addition here: apps that already have a shortcut added to a panel are marked with a little home icon. That said, there's another side to this: for some reason, SPB decided that we shouldn't be allowed to add the same shortcut to multiple panels, which can be annoying for those who want maximum accessibility to the most frequently used shortcuts. For an app costing $14.95, this shouldn't be too much to ask for, right? But otherwise, Shell 3D is a pretty neat add-on for those looking to breathe new life into their Android phones.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Sun, 03 Apr 2011 21:36:38 -0700 NY Mets pissed at Stewie from Family Guy? http://preppydude.posterous.com/ny-mets-pissed-at-stewie-from-family-guy http://preppydude.posterous.com/ny-mets-pissed-at-stewie-from-family-guy
Metsfamilyguy

The New York Mets have so many problems with outside criticism that about the last thing they need is a foul-mouthed cartoon baby giving his opinion on the team.

In fact, the only thing that might be worse is if that baby's  take was aired on the team's official broadcast after an opening day loss.

Because it's the Mets, both things actually happened.

Of course they did.

First, Stewie Griffin of Fox's "Family Guy" uttered a funny bit about the Mets during one of last fall's episodes and it quickly spread around the Internet.

Then an unidentified SportsNet New York TV employee briefly played part of the clip over broadcaster Gary Cohen after the Mets' 6-2 loss to the Florida Marlins on Friday night.

From the NY Post:   

"Family Guy" fans quickly recognized the audio as a Mets-mocking gag from the Fox show's Nov. 7 episode.

In one of the cartoon's riffs on pop culture, the scheming baby character, Stewie Griffin, is upset that he's not having fun on Halloween, and says the holiday is "a bigger letdown than being a Mets fan."

The scene then cuts to Stewie sitting at a Mets game. An announcer says, "It's Opening Day, and here's the first pitch . . . and the season's over!"

Stewie then flings down his cap in disgust.

SNY head honchos likely had the same reaction as Stewie because the NY Post described them as "seething." A network rep told the paper that it was "a very poor decision" by an employee and that it was being dealt with "internally."

Stewie could not be reached for comment, but you can imagine him being disappointed that this Mets season won't be as private of a matter.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane Sat, 02 Apr 2011 21:11:00 -0700 Top 10 Uses for Twitter (That Aren’t Self-Indulgent) by Whitson Gordon http://preppydude.posterous.com/top-10-uses-for-twitter-that-arent-self-indul http://preppydude.posterous.com/top-10-uses-for-twitter-that-arent-self-indul

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 Whitson Gordon — Since Twitter's inception, it's been looked down upon as a place for self-centered technophiles to share the mundane details of their lives. We at Lifehacker know better than that, though—here are our favorite ways to turn Twitter into a useful tool, without becoming one yourself.

We've shared some of our non-breakfast related Twitter uses before, but over the past few years Twitter has evolved, grown more popular, and we've just discovered more clever and productive uses for it. Some of these you may recognize, but even the ones we've discussed before may have been updated, so be sure to check them all out if you're looking to upgrade your Twitter usage.

Top 10 Uses for Twitter (That Aren't Self-Indulgent)Photo by kopp0041

10. Quickly Access Productivity Tools

Top 10 Uses for Twitter (That Aren't Self-Indulgent)We've mentioned before how easy it is to add tasks to Remember the Milk or send memos to Evernote using Twitter, which makes using our favorite productivity tools super quick and easy—almost like a productivity command line. Since then, we've discovered even faster ways to use this to our advantage, like performing those tasks straight from the address bar, or using Google Voice actions to just speak it to our phone. Twitter allows you far more than just one more access channel to your favorite productivity webapps. Since Twitter is everywhere these days, it opens up a ton of different options for super-quick access, so you can add a task to your to-do list and get on with your day.

9. Get Search Results for Timely News

Top 10 Uses for Twitter (That Aren't Self-Indulgent)As hard as news sites and blogs try to be up-to-the-second sources for news, the fact of the matter is that Twitter is just the best place to find out what just happened. Whether you want to keep up with this year's Oscar winners without sitting through the show, find out who got voted off American Idol, or finding out thatComcast's DNS went down (and how to get around it), all you need to do is hit upsearch.twitter.com. Within seconds you'll have all the information you need, even if it isn't up yet anywhere else on the internet.

8. Find a Job

 

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We already know the internet is a great tool for the unemployed (or just unhappy at their current job), but you can actually find a good number of listings on Twitter. We've talked about how to do this with free serviceTweetMyJobs, which lets you pick the field your interested in and get real-time Twitter updates of job listings you might be interested in. Furthermore, reader AlphaGeek notes that you can just search Twitter for the hashtag#jobs, and perhaps a hashtag for your industry or city. You'd be surprised at what you can find. Again, it certainly won't be your only resource, but its another good one to add to your arsenal.Photo remixed from an original by Janet McKnight

 

7. Get Up to the Minute Updates on Your Favorite Software

Top 10 Uses for Twitter (That Aren't Self-Indulgent)One of my favorite Twitter uses is following my favorite software developers and finding out immediately when they update. Whether it's big programs like Firefox and XBMC or smaller ventures like Adium for the Mac, I've never gotten a faster notification than on Twitter. Not only will you find out as soon as a new update is ready, but you'll find out about the cool stuff coming up in future versions, nightly builds, and sometimes even handy tips you didn't know about.

6. Use it as a Quick-Access Cloud Notebook

Top 10 Uses for Twitter (That Aren't Self-Indulgent)If you aren't using something like Evernote, that doesn't mean you can't still use Twitter's quick-post nature as a notebook—reader Epellsays its a great place to jot down ideas as soon as you think of them. Just protect your tweets, disallow discovery of your account by email address, and use it as your own personal notebook. If you're the more introspective type, you can use it as a short-post journal, too—whether public or private.

5. Discover News and Articles You Otherwise Wouldn't Have

Top 10 Uses for Twitter (That Aren't Self-Indulgent)Using Twitter for news is hardly a new idea—following accounts like @cnnbrk are Twitter 101 (plus, if any news starts breaking, the other folks you follow will probably be quick to talk about it). What I find especially cool about Twitter is that I find news and articles I otherwise wouldn't have discovered. Since you can follow anyone with just a click, you probably end up following more people (and a more diverse group of people) than you would on, say, Google Reader. As they tweet out interesting links (or retweet others you don't follow), you might find articles or blog posts that weren't hugely popular, but still useful or interesting. Sure, at a certain point this can get more "noisy" than helpful, but this is why you should routinely unfollow people to keep your feeds clutter-free.

4. Get Alerts and Inspiration on Pretty Much Anything

Top 10 Uses for Twitter (That Aren't Self-Indulgent)Aren't sure what you want to make for dinner tonight? @cookbook can give you a bit of inspiration with her 140-character recipes. Not sure what's good on TV tonight? @TVGuidecan give you some ideas. There are a ton of Twitter accounts out there that send out useful alerts or inspiration for things in your daily life. Other examples include previously mentioned@queuenoodle, which alerts you to expiring movies on Netflix Instant, or @amazonmp3, which keeps you alerted to the best deals (and all the free tracks of the day) on Amazon MP3. Your local businesses might also have some cool accounts, too—a few of the local bars where I'm from will tweet out special drafts that aren't publicized anywhere else, so only their followers know to come in and ask for it specifically.

3. Control DIY Home Automation Projects

Whether you need to send a quick command or get alerts for something happening at home, Twitter has become a very popular tool for home automation projects. You can do something simple like control your PC from afar with TweetMyPC, or do a more complicated project like tell your coffee pot to start brewing, water your plants, or evendispense Halloween candy. With the Twitter API and an Arduino, there are pretty much no limits to what you can control.

2. Get Instant Customer Support

Top 10 Uses for Twitter (That Aren't Self-Indulgent)Lots of companies have taken to providing support on Twitter, and it's more than just a way to get in on the fad. @JetBlue and@ComcastCares are two accounts that have made the format popular, and with good reason—some people are getting faster responses via Twitter than they are the customer service phone line. Other companies using Twitter this way include Microsoft for the Xbox, Time Warner Cable, and Dell, though with a bit of searching you'll find a ton more.

1. Get Specific Answers and Advice from a Knowledgeable Pool

Top 10 Uses for Twitter (That Aren't Self-Indulgent)Those that follow us on Twitter know that one of our favorite uses is asking questions from you guys, and getting specific advice. Whether you're looking for the best app for a particular job, the best coffee in New York, or just advice on a good new band to listen to, the Twitterverse has opinions and they aren't afraid to share them. The more followers you have, the more answers you'll get, obviously—but if you can get a few more popular followers, you can often get your question retweeted and get a lot of good advice back.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/95563/PreppyDude_7.jpg http://posterous.com/users/eT486iBmZX Duane preppydude Duane