New App: Writely

Writely is an online word processor. It's still in beta but they just opened up the site to everyone to use, and I'm enjoying it. It can import/export word files, post to Blogger and share documents with multiple collaborators. All of it works pretty well, but Blogger posting is still a bit iffy; post titles don't appear as promised, and the setup could be much easier. I suspect this will get better in the future, since Google recently bought Writely just like they bought Blogger.

The thing I most enjoy about Writely is that, once uploaded, my docs are then always available as long as I have a computer with an Internet connection. No more e-mailing attachments. The features are pretty basic. If you're writing a long dissertation with footnotes, special formatting, etc. stick with Word. But for the simple bread and butter correspondence, I'd highly recommend it.

Good night, and good luck

Big day today... hosted an outdoor reception in Omaha which turned out to be a big win for the nonprofit I work for. We were able to convince 3 of our local TV stations and a local radio station to cover it, a first for us since usually trying to get media to our events is like pulling teeth. One station went above and beyond, starting with a live throw from one of our grant project sites and then following up with an interview with a local fisherman at a Missouri River site we helped to restore. Good stuff! Sadly my boss didn't get any face time; there was a lot of ambient noise and I think that's probably why they didn't use the footage. But nonetheless it was a big coup for the organization. Neil very happy!

Dude, your Dell is on fire!

photo credit: John Gurzinski for The New York Times

A Dell notebook computer in Thomas Forqueran's pickup truck caught fire in July, igniting ammunition in the glove box and then the gas tanks.

I'd like to give a special thanks to the Gray Lady for making my day a little brighter. Best. Photo. Ever. It shocks and educates. After checking all the Dell laptops in the office, I discovered that we have two potential fire hazards that need to be replaced. Hopefully they won't ignite the spare ammo we have hanging around while we wait for the replacement parts. Dell says it will take almost 20 days for them to arrive.

Dell Will Recall Batteries in PC's

Overheard at the Laundromat

I hate doing laundry. I really, really hate it. I have been known to fill several laundry baskets and wear shirts that haven't seen the light of day for over 5 years in order to avoid doing laundry. After tonight, I can see where this aversion comes from. But I'll save that for later. First, a little back-story.

My neighborhood is historic, urban and a little rough: a few months ago our police commissioner was propositioned by, in his words, "a well-known hooker." This was two blocks away from my house. On a Sunday afternoon. In broad daylight. So I'm not talking Wisteria Lane here. The laundromat is smack dab in the middle of this den of iniquity and, because of the constant AC and cable television, is a magnet for people who are interested in more than clean clothes. Shoplifter Pete, for example. I've seen this guy on two of my recent laundry trips. Pete is clearly a junkie; the slackened eyes and unstable gait are a giveaway. But old Pete is a smart guy. He's not going to beg for money for his next fix. He steals from the grocery store across the street then tries to sell the hot merchandise at the laundromat with a steep markup. The genius is that the stolen item is what Pete thinks you'll be interested in buying. He sizes you up, then runs over to the market and comes back. Our first meeting took me by surprise. "You wanna buy a salad?" he said, proffering a bag of wilting lettuce. "Good deal - only 5 bucks." Obviously he failed to see the half-eaten Double Bacon Cheeseburger in front of me, and does not know me well enough to understand that I am not a caesar salad kind of guy. I explained that I'd just eaten and and he stumbled away. The next time we met, he had an accomplice: an overweight woman who spent most of her time doubled-up in the parking lot inspecting the cracks in the sidewalk. Again, Pete entered, surveyed the scene and saw me buying a Dr. Pepper in the vending machine. "You like pop? I can get you a 12 pack, only 10 bucks." I was almost tempted to ask how he intended to smuggle a case of pop out of the store undetected, but I decided against extending our conversation and refused the deal. Crestfallen, Pete shuffled off to find his next customer.

Guys like Pete are a minor nuisance, but the people that really annoy me are the grifters. I'm always surprised when someone asks for money at the laundromat. I am so dependent on my debit card that I hardly carry any cash with me, so when I do those bills are going to be used for a specific purpose, say for doing laundry or going out to the bar. So no, I don't have any cash to spare, sir; I'm going to use it. To clean my clothes. Here, at the laundromat. One guy had the balls to ask me, not for spare change, but for 3 dollars. After I said no and he left, one of the other patrons turned to me and said, "What, did he think you were just sitting here for shits and giggles?" Exactly.

Tonight the con game was well played and yet more disturbing in my opinion. Usually, I try to do my laundry early in the week because there are fewer people at the laundromat and therefore the chances of claiming a table with a television are the best. It was surprisingly busy tonight, and I was just able to get the last open table in the place. Around 7:30 a pair of guys arrived, one with a big duffle bag of clothes, the other stumbling and reeking of whiskey. They put the clothes in some washers and promptly left. About 25 minutes later they came back. They had persuaded one of the other patrons, who was loading her newly cleaned clothes into her car, to follow them back into the building. One of the men feigned ignorance as to how to operate the dryers and asked her for assistance, which I found laughable since he was perfectly able to run the washers. I knew he thought this was his in, because earlier this Good Samaritan was assisting a shy Asian woman to set the dryer. Man #2, aka Whiskey Drinker, clutched a nearby washer for support. Then the conversation took a strange turn as Man #1, aka Smooth Talker, started testifying about how God was so important to him and "if I didn't have God, I don't know what I'd do with myself." Odd. Eventually the Good Samaritan departed after finding a telephone book and writing down the phone number of her church, a "good place where they don't force religion on you." After she left, this pair of godly men had a nice laugh and tossed the paper away.

I don't exactly know what they expected to get from her. Maybe it was just the satisfaction of getting away with it, with making her believe they were true believers. Later I saw them bumming cigarettes off of a bunch of guys outside. One by one, the smokers extricated themselves from the situation, remarking afterwards "those guys don't know when to shut up" and "Dude, you left me alone with them! Thanks a lot!" I realized that if I didn't make a move soon I'd be their next target out of sheer proximity, so I quickly shoved my unfolded clothes into a basket and made my escape.

I am in love with Google Notebook

I just stumbled onto the Google Labs page today and discovered Google Notebook, an extension for Firefox that lets you select any text on a web page and create a note out of it. This cool thing is that it can copy images, hyperlinks, etc. so if I'm working on collecting items for our podcast I don't have to do the whole copy URL - open Gmail - email to myself routine. V. cool. I give it 850 out of 1000 stars :)

Google Notebook

iPod, where are you?

My iPod Mini battery just hit the end of a long run, so I decided to ship it back for service. Now it's MIA. Granted, I did intitate the service request in June and just shipped it a few weeks ago, but now I have this notice that my repair has been cancelled. WTF? Repeated calls to the Apple 800 number have been met with 15 min+ wait times and, as you might already know if you are an Apple owner, sending them an e-mail is almost impossible. I am not happy.

Where are you, my little silver music box? Come back to me, baby. I'll treat ya right this time, I promise.

What is to be done?

I've been messing around with this blog for a few weeks now, and I've decided that if I'm going to commit to blogging, I should come up with some reasons for having this blog in the first place. So, in no particular order, here they are:

• To improve my writing, which I do on a regular basis for work but not for pleasure anymore.
• To mess around with Blogger and Google Adsense. I don't get a chance to do that on our podcast blog, so I'd like this to be a sandbox for stuff I might want to do later on other sites.
• To promulgate the phrase "Slave to the Nap." Truly this is the best band name ever. If you have a band and would like to call yourselves "Slave to the Nap," I wholeheartedly support you. Just drop me an e-mail if you do.
• To talk about subjects I find interesting.

So, in honor of the last bullet, feast you eyes on this little news update from my local newspaper: No pets allowed

A new day is dawning! No longer will schnauzers and miniature poodles roam our brick-paved boulevards! Children will eat kolaches outside with impunity, knowing they are safe from canine attacks!

First of all, let me say that I enjoy the Farmer's Market very much. It is the main provider of my kolaches, and as such holds a special place in my heart. However, this dog ban leaves me unsettled. Personally, I dislike the canine companions that seem to overrun the crowded two-block area of the Market. But I really can't blame the dogs; it's the owners that parade them around looking for attention. You know the type. These are the people that need a prop to get attention. A dog at an outdoor event like the Farmer's Market is a perfect accessory. People will stop and talk to them, basking in the glow of the new puppy and asking stupid questions like "Is it a Shitzapoo?" or whatever they call these designer dogs nowadays. These are the pet owners that should be banned from the Farmers Market, not the nuclear family that brings their well-behaved golden retriever out early on Saturday morning to pick up some baked goods and coffee at the Mill.

But you can't ban people based on how annoying they are, so I guess the pups are gone for good. This is a hot-button issue for our city, judging from the amount of comments on the Journal Star web site. But I'm sure that as a community, we can get over this terrible crisis. Maybe we should drown our sorrows in some kolaches? Mmm, kolaches.

Avenge my death, boy

This week I received the first installment in The Avengers box set from Blockbuster Online. It's all terribly exciting. Spies in sixties London wearing leather catsuits - who are you to resist it? Fan-freaking-tastic.