Deal Alert: Red Swingline Stapler
December 31st, 2003, 3:40am by JakeI’ll forgo my usual pithy remarks and just post a link for a change.
Archive for 2003
Goin' Mobile
December 30th, 2003, 10:25pm by MikeLast New Year’s Eve, Joanie and I donated our car (the Saturn) to charity, starting a tradition of cutting our ties to 20th Century technology for the New Year. We’ve continued this tradition this year — with the dawn of 2004, we will be without a land line! As of 10 PM on 12/31, our phone will be disconnected, and we’ll be totally on cell phones. We figured that with TiVo working over the net, and multiple wireless networks around, we have no need for dialup, and our cell phones should suffice. The benefit: $25 per month savings. The potential downsides: (1) people who are friends with both of us have to choose which cell phone to call; (2) waiting on hold will now cost us minutes; (3) we’ll have to be much more diligent about checking our voicemail; and (4) we have to try hard to keep telemarketers at bay (by giving out our work numbers, or just refusing to give a phone number to people).
I guess it’s too late now, but what do you guys think about this plan?
Online Music Comparison
December 30th, 2003, 6:19pm by KelvinNice speculative article about the future of online music. Seems to be partial to Rhapsody and mentions a feature of Rhapsody that I didn’t know: the ability to add hotlinkable playlists to a blog. I’ll check it out, but it won’t work unless pyslent readers get rhapsody subscriptions…
Gadget roundup!
December 29th, 2003, 10:16pm by MikeSo, the holidays are over — time for a gadget roundup! Here are my newest gadget-related things:
— From the Gateway store: a Quadra 4-in-1 pen that has a ballpoint pen, PDA stylus, laser pointer, and LED flashlight in a pen. Or as they put it, “4 ways to be productive.”
— An iTunes Music Store gift certificate.
— And last, but not least: Joanie’s parents bought us a Roomba robotic vacuum for Christmas! We gave it a test spin in our office this morning — read on for pictures and a movie of it in action!
Free RSS-to-go
December 29th, 2003, 7:01pm by KelvinJust dug up this link to a mobile-sized web site for custom rss feeds, called mobilerss. This is similar to pyslent’s own right side-bar, except that you can customize the feeds without bugging Mike. Also, it will display the text and graphics from the post too (in addition to the headlines). It seems to work better than the HandRss application, although I haven’t tested it thoroughly. So you set up your feeds, and then access the website from your mobile browser!
Coolest Post Ever
December 26th, 2003, 4:54pm by Kelvin
Hello from Boreal! My bros and I are on a day trip to tahoe. The snow conditions are awesome! Afterwards, we’ll go hit the buffets in reno. Ski and gamble, what a combo. Earlier, I took a call from derrick while going down a particularly leisurely green run.
Santa in Alabama
December 24th, 2003, 8:56pm by Mike
Here is how Santa visits us in Alabama! I guess it’s hard to tell from the picture (from the phone), but this is Santa on the back of a fire truck driving through our neighborhood here in Birmingham! Ahh, Christmas in the South! When I get back to Boston I’ll post a real picture of this (from previous years).
The Dog's Fifth X-mas
December 23rd, 2003, 7:01pm by Kelvin
Looks like Pyslent at large is taking a holiday, so here’s something new to look at. This is our Christmas tree with lights, as requested. Happy holidays!
McCafe
December 21st, 2003, 5:54pm by Kelvin
The new cool hangout? This is not your average McDonald’s! The coffee here is not as good as Starbucks, but it’s better than the normal McD’s coffee.
Minutes from the Pyslent Conference Call
December 21st, 2003, 4:40pm by JakeJust wanted to post a summary from our telecon earlier today, 11:30 AM PST. Please feel free to note any omissions or oversights.
1 minute: Opening remarks, introduction
10 minutes: Discussion of conference calling capabilities
10 minutes: Discussion of Return of the King and Elf sightings
5 minutes: Searching Pyslent.com to find Derrick’s pictures of Mt. Doom
5 minutes: Trying to think of ways to outsmart Montana
2 minutes: Discuss holiday plans
3 minutes: Talk about Christmas trees and discuss the concept of Chanukah bushes
5 minutes: Talk about how we plan to “start our day”
5 minutes: Game plan how to keep Derrick on the call after Kelvin hangs up
1 minute: Closing remarks, conclusion.