His Point of View

Air Mouse is the latest reason I have found to fall in love with my iPhone again.  This app allows you to use your iPhone as a mouse & presentation pointer for your desktop/laptop/Mac.  All you need is a wifi connection and a free down loadable application to install on your desktop/laptop.   Your PC/Mac can be connected via a wired or wireless connection as long as it is connected to the same network that your  iPhone is connected to via wifi.  I find this app particularly useful since I don’t like to sit at a desk while using my PC, so now I can sit back and use my PC across the room or from my comfy chair as long as I can see the monitor(a large monitor comes in handy).  The app even allows you to use your iPhone as a fully functional keyboard, really you have full control of your PC from your iPhone.  In fact i am typing this blog post on my iPhone while sitting back in a nice comfortable chair away from my desk.  I think this is a must have for entrepreneurs or people constantly on the go who want to minimize the number of devices in their equipment bag.  The app only costs $1.99 at the itunes store so give it a try.  See the vendor’s site by clicking here.

Sooooo, about 15 years ago I stopped eating pork, and maybe 5 years ago I stopped eating beef.  As a result I avoid products which contain gelatin, as most gelatin is rendered from the remains of cattle or swine.  To make a long story short, I have had to give up gummy bears and gummy worms. Well I was in Toys R Us yesterday and I found organic, vegetarian gummy bears and worms… even the sour kind.  If you are interested they are “Surf Sweets” by Santa Cruz Nutritionals for only $.98 for a 2.75 oz. package. And best of all they taste great, they even taste better than I remember…. Now if only then made a vegetarian Jell-O substitute…

FYI: Surf Sweets products are all gluten-free and casein-free

http://www.surfsweets.com/ OR  www.SantaCruzNutritionals.com It has been brought to my attention that Surf Sweets is no longer a part of Santa Cruz Nutritionals, although both companies appear to sell similar organic candies.

As many of you know, I took a trip to Cape Town, South Africa in March, 2009.  If you don’t know, South Africa was under a system of legalized racism called Apartheid until 1994.  Apartheid ended just 15 short years before my visit, and it was clear to me that the racism is still alive and well in South Africa ( I can only speak of Cape Town and its surrounding region, as this was the only metropolitan area I visited during my stay.  Please see my previous post regarding my interactions which some of the citizens of South Africa here)  I saw that darker colored people held very few client facing jobs (such as waiters, hostesses, cashiers, etc).  I saw that coloured people drove nice cars, while most of the black people walked or took public transportation, I experienced hesitation to serve me in retail establishments until the shop keepers realized that I was not a local black or coloured person.  I won’t even mention the German owned book store which featured writings by Adolf Hitler and other Nazi (continue reading…)

I came across this video the other day, and its was a pretty interesting find.  Even if you are innocent, the ability to plead the 5th amendment is an important tool to use when you face an interaction with the police regarding a possible criminal act.  I am not endorsing criminal activity, but if you watch you will hear how failure to invoke the 5th amendment right  can land innocent people behind bars…or worse.  Even innocent people say things which can be interpreted as evidence against them, as you will learn about in the video.  My advice to you is to plead “the one, two, three, fo’,  fiiiiif!!!!’ (that’s plead the 5th for the slow people) , as Dave Chappelle so famously proclaimed.  Repeat after me… “The 5th amendment is your friend.”

I have not been this happy about new technology in a while…   Today I set up my Google Voice account and I am loving it.  The “Call Me” feature is a result of Google Voice.  I am testing an idea I have of allowing the public to call me via Google Voice in order to post to this blog… although its not fully automated,  I will get a feel of if this idea gets off the ground.  If you didn’t know, one of the many Google Voice features ifs automated voicemail transcriptions… when people call and leave a message you also get an email and/or text message of the text version of what they said verbally.  If any of you super-coders out there can come up with an app to automatically take those emails and post them to a blog we need to put our heads together and make it happen.

If you have something to say, please give me a call and let’s see how voice blogging works out for us.   Click the “Call Me” icon in the panel on the right side of your browser or at the bottom of each blog post.

(Adobe Flash/FlashPlayer  must be installed on your computer to use this feature)

Also today I was offered a chance to test a new feature on Twitter, which I am also loving.   (I don’t know how many people are testing this feature, but they asked us not to tell or blog about exactly what the feature is…) but I can say that I am absolutely loving it, and I am sure that you will too if it goes public.

I have set up my account at MobileMe.com and this allows me to record and share data (voice,images,files, etc) with anyone in the world who is connected to the web while I am on the go.  I can be anywhere the internet reaches and share my experience with anyone or everyone practically live.  (If I was fortunate enough to have the iphone 3GS or brave enough to jailbreak my iphone 3G I would have the ability to stream live video, but oh well.)

Now I am just waiting for my Google Wave invitation and I will be all set.

I am loving the internet right now, after many years of development it has become more than just a tool for entertainment and work.  The internet is really making life, networking,  communication, and maintaining relationships easier.

Recently I have had a few discussions with people who claim to be up on new technology, but they have not yet heard of Google Wave or Google Voice.   And I had to stop and ask myself how is it that folks who are connected to the web 24/7 have not heard of the two products which will probably have the greatest impact on our lives since email.

(If you don’t know, Google Voice is a service that Google is testing which will allow you to have one phone number that follows you everywhere, work, home, mobile… everywhere you go people will be able to call you on one number and reach you anywhere… check out the link above for more details(Oh and I can’t forget to say that it allows you to send/receive text messages from your desk-top’s browser).   Google Wave is something that’s kind of hard to explain, basically its a way to communicate with people using multimedia that’s sort of a cross between email, file sharing, document collaboration and chatting…  again check out the link for more details. ) I don’t know how you can claim to be into technology if you have never heard of these new offerings from Google.  All I can say is that I can’t wait until my invitations are approved.

Image from www.google.com

Today I am happy to report another technological advance in consumer electronics.  I have just learned of the new Nikon Coolpix S1000pj digital camera.  What’s so great about this camera you may ask???  If you did ask I would say that it is a pocket sized 12.1 Mega-Pixel camera with a  5X magnification optical glass lens, image stabilization, up to 6400 ISO, and best of all…. a built in projector.  That’s right this pocket sized camera($429.95) has a built in video projector which can display images and video captured by the camera onto a wall or screen up to 40 inches wide.  This means no more huddling around a 2 inch LCD screen to show your friends the photos you just took of them being silly, or to show family the photos of your recent trip to Paris.  And to the creative bunch, this opens the door to instant art not only can you instantly display images you just created, but you can incorporate those you just snapped into new works on the spot.  I think this (or the next few generations of this technology) will be a must have for the graphic artists on a budget, who draw or paint things they observe in the world.

For more details go to the Nikon site here  Or to the Nikon Rumors site here.

If you are familiar with flat screen television technology I am sure that you know that Samsung is a leader in the industry.  When I saw this article over at Engadget I fell in love.  Samsung is about to release (in Korea only so far) a 55-inch LCD television with a 7-inch touchscreen remote that allows you to control your whole audio/visual system, and access media stored on your PC.  No impressive right???  How about this… the TV can streamHD Blu-Ray and live video to the remote so that you can see what’s on the TV if you are in another room.  The remote also can access the channel guide and show previews of video before you turn the channel on the main screen.  This is really a breakthrough in the world of home entertainment as far as I am concerned.  Now you can go to the kitchen and keep up with the show without having to pause the action for everyone else in the room.  This, to me is far better than Picture-in-Picture since the main screen’s show is never interrupted by the channel flipper who always has to see what’s on the other channel during commercial breaks.  On top of all that the remote will be able to run “widget” applications such as a clock or a weather application.  

According to the article the TV and remote are coming together as a bundle, so this likely will not be something you can add to your current flat screen, but rest assured that if this technology becomes popular, someone will figure out how to sell it to you as an after market item.

photos courtesy of www.engadget.com

Recently I have decided to venture into the world of Independent /limited release films, and I must say that I am disappointed in the fact that I have not done so sooner.  Last night I saw one of the best movies I have seen in a long while.  In my mind Full Metal Jacket is the bar when it comes to military movies and I can only think of one other movie (aside from the movie I saw last night) released in the last few years that comes close to the bar, and that film is We Were Soldiers.  Las night I saw the movie titled “The Hurt Locker” which is about a bomb squad team serving in Baghdad.  The movie has no real “stars” (but it does have a few familiar faces) and i think that is the major reason it is not a mainstream film.  If you like war movies this is definitely a must see, you can go to the movie’s official web site to find a theatre near you that is showing this flick.

If you live in the DC metro area you should check out the E Street Cinema, I will be there frequently this summer and fall, as it appears there are several more excellent Indie films to be released this year.  Even if you don’t live near DC you should check out the link to the E Street Cinema to find an affiliated theatre near you, and to read the description of some of the films currently available.  I must add that many of these movies have stepped their game up tremendously… no longer do independent films have that notorious “low budget” appearance.  Many of these films are shot using equipment of similar if not equal caliber to what major studios use. 

If you ever wonder how you can view some of the films that you hear about or read about winning major awards at film festivals such as those in Cannes and Utah ( Sundance Film Festival) you should find your local theatre which shows Independent films.   If you are concerned about prices,  the admission prices at the E Street Cinema are actually cheaper than the major chains in the area (tickets are $10 after 6pm).  Also, for you film producers many of these theatres have events where you can show your works to the public.

It’s time to expand your horizons, let’s go out and seek entertainment instead of being spoon fed the same repeated themes by the major production studios.  

(If you know of some other venues, especially in DC or ATL that show good independent films please let me know)

These are the films I plan to check out in the coming weeks… (sadly it seems that I just missed the Unmistaken Child, as it’s showin gin the DC area ended yesterday…)

Disclaimer: Before I begin I must say that improper use of the recommended product or the techniques described can cause unrepairable damage to your belongings. Read post and follow tips at your own risk. I am not responsible for any damage which you may cause.

I came across a product that has helped me to solve a few problems. What problems? What product? If you were to ask me those questions I would say, scratched/scuffed plastic items such as, motorcycle helmet visors, dashboard instrument panels, sun glasses (The product is not recommended for use on colored plastics, but I have had success as long as the plastic is colored all the way through, and not just coated with a color.)  This product works just about any hard plastics that need to be brought back to a shine such as: acrylic, polycarbonate, CR-39, Polyurethane, and other plastics, but NOT GLASS and NOT plastic with a color coating.

The product that fixes these problems is Meguiar’s Headlight Restore Kit, or just the PlastX solution if you don’t need a buffing wheel(for use with a power drill) and polish cloth.  You won’t need the buffing wheel and power drill for small items. Now I must warn you that for colored plastics or shades you must know that the plastic is colored all the way through and not just a coating. If you use this polish on a coated item you might just have to strip off all the color to recover from the damage you will cause and then you will be left with a clear plastic item.  The manufacturer only recommends the product for use on clear plastics so you are at fault for any damage caused by off label uses.  I could not find the PlastX solution locally so I had to buy the kit which includes a buffing pad attachment for a power drill, and a polishing cloth, for $19.99 at my local Wal-Mart.

FYI:  If you have glass items which need to be polished back to a shine you should use Cerium Oxide powder and a felt pad.  These can be found online for as little as $10 plus shipping.

photo from www.autogeek.net

A few tips:
1. If you can feel the scratches with your finger or finger nail the damage is too severe to use with this product alone… you will need to sand down the damaged area with sandpaper, for minor scratches you should begin wet sanding with 2000 grit paper  and finish with 2500 grit paper.  Wet sand the damaged area until smooth to touch, and then polish with the Meguiar’s PlastX polish. You can not typically find 2000 or 2500 grit paper at your local hardware store, but most automotive repair stores and all automotive or marine paint & body supply stores should have it. You risk further damaging your product by taking this step, so if this is your first attempt at wet sanding find an online tutorial and practice first on some scrap plastic items.  If you are unsure of your skills or if you can live with the scratches you may want to delay sanding & polishing until the scratches become unbearable.

2. A like new white athletic sock and your own two hands work well when the sock is turned inside out and used with gentle to no pressure to apply this product if the included buffing wheel is too large to use on your item. The inside of an athletic sock should be soft and clean enough to polish plastic without causing further damage.

3. Be patient, use very little pressure and use a lot of time and elbow grease and you should get the job done without damaging your item.

4. Use Masking Tape or Painter’s Tape to cover any chrome, aluminum, or any thing that’s not plastic because this polish may damage metallic or wood finishes. I like Painter’s Tape myself because it sticks to plastic and metal very nicely and it leaves no visible residue if removed within a few hours.

5. Test this product on a small, hidden area or a scrap piece of the same material before you go to town, and cause major damage.

6. Remember to only use this product on hard plastics, it is not recommended for LCD screens such as your laptop, GPS Unit, or your 50″ flat screen.

Good Luck with your plastic polishing.  I hope I did not scare you, but the risk of damage is real especially if you need to break out the sand paper.  Its really a simple procedure overall.  In less than 30 minutes I polished a scratch out of a pair of shades and I polished my iphone plastic screen protector(not the screen itself which is glass, but an aftermarket hard plastic case I purchased for my phone)…both items look like new, and this was my first time ever polishing plastic, although I had a former life as an auto body repair man and painter so I am familiar with sanding techniques…