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Category Archives: Website

messageSling

This great new, free website is still in beta, but seems to be a great service, if it works like they say it does.  

Ever since getting my first VOIP phone line with voicemail notifications via email, I’ve always wanted that feature on my cell phone.  Basically, if someone calls me on my home phone (my VOIP line), and leaves a message, I get an email at work saying so.  I can click on a link and the message is played in a browser that I can listen to on any computer with a web connection.

This website, messageSling, promises to do that for cell phone calls also.  No more burning daytime minutes listening to voicemail!  It works like this: you sign up through the website, and they give you a voicemail line, which you can forward your unanswered calls to, and listen to later on the web.  The site emails you or texts you every time you have a new voicemail.  

I was thrilled when I heard about this, and signed up immediately.  However, when I went to forward my unanswered calls to this number they gave me, Sprint let me know how to do it, but said that it would be 20 cents per minute!  That’s ridiculous.  The website is completely free, otherwise.  I would only be paying Sprint.  I would be PAYING Sprint not to use their ancient voicemail system that doesn’t do email notifications.  

Count me out.  I’ll deal with a touch-tone interface if I have to.

Google Reader

I have been toying with several RSS feed readers for several years.  The concept has always appealed to me.  Point the reader to your favorite websites, and you have access to all the new content, as it appears, as soon as it appears on the web.  Watch the news unfold on cnn.com live!  Find the latest gadget announcements on gizmodo.com!  Never miss a daily edition of your favorite web comic!

One of the readers I tried years ago was Google Reader, when it first came out.  It was a reader with a browser interface, which was unique at the time.  So it has all the benefits of Google Docs, like the ability to access it from any computer.I might do some reading while I’m on lunch at work, and when I access it from home, I know which stories I’ve read and which I haven’t.

Another perk is customization.  Google offers many, many settings to let you use this application anyway you like.  And in addition, users have written custom scripts to add even more features and options.  My favorite is the “Better Google Reader” add-on for Firefox from Lifehacker.com.

But my favorite feature by far, and the feature that eventually led me to use it full-time, is the ability to share favorite items with any or all of your contacts.  One-click on the “Share” button, and anyone who views your shared items will see this.  Your GMail contacts can subscribe to your shared items.  I click on things I find interesting most every day.  Your shared items are gathered to a website, which has it’s own feed.  So I’ve added the WordPress RSS Widget to the right navigation bar, so anyone that visits my blog here, can see a glimpse of my shared items.

If you’d rather communicate an entry a little more privately, Google Reader offers one-click integration with GMail, so that you can use your stored contacts to forward any RSS feed entry to only a select person.

The last selling point I have for Google Reader, which has actually been implemented in other readers, is a suggestion feature.  You subscribe to your favorite sites, and Google recommends similar sites at your request.

Rhapsody.com DRM Free Downloads

Rhapdsody.com has started offering DRM-free music downloads.  I signed up for an account their earlier this month when they were offering 1 free album to the first 100,000 new accounts before the 4th of July. 

I downloaded 2 lower-priced albums by Ahmad Jamal.  I later found out that while the mp3 files are indeed DRM-free, they still contain identifable information.  Rhapsody fills the comment tag with info, which could be traced back to the original purchaser.

If someone got a hold of my mp3 collection and started distributing or selling any of the identifiable files, I would be at risk.  I decided this wasn’t a risk I wanted to take, so I whipped out my favorite mp3 tag editor and fixed this problem.

Other than that somewhat annoying feature, I rather liked my experience at Rhapsody.com.  I was able to preview the music before I bought it, by playing a 30 second sample.  The order and download service went smoothly, and they weren’t kidding when they offered $10 off your first purchase (most albums cost $9.99.  The tracks are, in fact, DRM free.  They were delivered in a convenient ZIP file format, and I was able to listen to them as soon as they were extracted.  If you can live with the quick edit, removing the comments on the  track, I would recommend checking it out.

2009 Toyota Corolla

A few weeks ago, I decided it was finally time for a new car.  I was happy with my 15 year old car for a while, but it was time to find something that wouldn’t hit me with unexpected repair costs a few times a year.  So instead of periodically taking my car to the shop, I decided to get a car payment.

My last car was a 1993 Toyota Celica.   I decided to stay with Toyota and leased a 2009 Corolla.  They came out in February, which was way too soon, in my opinion.  I almost wish I had come a month earlier, when they still had great deals on the ’08 models.  But I did end up getting a good lease deal.

My favorite feature is the Auxiliary input on the stereo system.  I can plug in my iPod and listen to anything I want.  My last car didn’t have cruise control.  I forgot how convenient that was.  This is my first car with keyless entry, and I love how easy it is to unlock now.  Also, this is my first car with automatic lights.  I’m getting used to that.  I’m never sure when they’re on half the time at twilight.  I end up turning the switch as it’s getting dark.  But if I get in the car when it’s dark, I know the automatic lights will work.  Another feature I like is the backseat folds down to make more room in the trunk for large cargo.  I haven’t used this particular feature, but I’m sure I’ll appreciate it the next time I play a piano gig that requires me to bring my keyboard.

This is also my first car payment.  I know what this means.  Less extra money for purchases.  Less money for eating out.  I’m okay with it, for now.  I imagine, as I keep moving up the salary ladder, I’ll get more and more used to having that large monthly expense.  For now, it is taking some getting used to.

Impossible Woman

Women are usually smart or beautiful; not both.  I used to say this without “usually” and thought I was correct.  But I stumbled upon this most amazing girl, who is magically both.  Her website (http://www.hotforwords.com/) is interesting.  And that’s as understated as I can make it.

Her mind, her accent, her figure, her face, everything about her is gorgeous.  She’s a philologist, someone who studies language and etymology.  Her youtube channel is one of the top 50 most subscribed channels of all time.

She impressed me.   I can appreciate her work ethic in various area of her life.  I have only a few where I am hard-working, and frankly, exercise is not one of them.  But, like her, language is one of my interests.  I consider myself a decent writer.  And my attention to detail always forces me to look at the etymology of a word when I look up the definition.  Most word histories are as interesting as (if not more than) their definitions.

I’ll have fun learning from her… but that’s it.  The last the she probably needs is another obsessed stalker.  I’ve subscribed to her podcast.  She’s too old for me anyway.  The last three girls I’ve been interested in were all older than me, and none of them ended well.  Perhaps I’ve learned my lesson?

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