Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Travel Notes: London Jan/Feb 07
Trip Diary (retrospective notes): London, January/February, 2007
1/31/07
UA954 SFO 612P - LHR 2/1/07 1240P
10h 28m
B777
5368 miles
Fare SECATAZ $446.93
Seat 25C
HSBC ATM @ LHR Term 3 using HSBC card withdraw £50
Oyster top up £20 at TFL Travel Info Center
Thu, 2/1/07
Barkston Gardens Hotel
34 Barkston Gardens, SW5 (Mo. Earl's Court)
Hotwire $65 + 13.21 = $78.21
free wireless; old hotel, but ok
The Earl's Court area is farther west from where I normally stay in London and it was an interesting neighborhood. Too far to go for most of the tourist stuff I like.
Possible theatre:
Dinner @ Masala Zone, Earl's Court
Fri, 2/2/07
Holiday Inn London-Regent's Park
Carburton St/Bolsover St W1W (Mo. Great Portland St)
Hotwire $39 + $13.68 = $52.68! I remember trying different combinations of dates and lucking out with this low rate. Too bad it meant moving each night, though the good part is that I was able to sample several hotels new to me. Hotel was being painted on interior, but smell wasn't significant in the room
Pret a Manger lunch £4.74
Walked Hampsted Heath in the afternoon. I used the Pathfinder Guide In and Around London Walks, which I got at Stanford's on a previous trip, as a guide.
TKTS: 12th Night @ Old Vic £20
Zizzi, 33 Charlotte St £18.20
Sat, 2/3/07
Hilton London Olympia
380 Kensington High St W14 (Mo. High Street Kensington and a bus ride west)
Hotwire $104 + 7.15 = $111.15
Noisy!
Grande Latte £2.15 Coffee Republic Tottenham Court Rd
Masala Zone beer £2.75 + grand thali £9.45 + £1.22 service = £13.42
9 Marshall St W1
Easy Internet cafe £2
TKTS: 39 Steps @ Criterion £22
Sun, 2/4/07
Novotel London Euston
Priceline 4* Bid $75; total $95.90
5 minutes walk from Euston; repeat Priceline "win"
Walked over to North Sea Fish, but closed (Sunday, duh)
Malabar Junction lunch; £4.99 by the British Museum
Covent Garden scenes:
Pizza Express dinner; Euston Rd £18.55 Yeah, boring, but convenient.
Mon, 2/5/07
Signed up at LHR for Iris Recognition Immigration System too bad it expires 4 Feb 09
1/31/07
UA954 SFO 612P - LHR 2/1/07 1240P
10h 28m
B777
5368 miles
Fare SECATAZ $446.93
Seat 25C
HSBC ATM @ LHR Term 3 using HSBC card withdraw £50
Oyster top up £20 at TFL Travel Info Center
Thu, 2/1/07
Barkston Gardens Hotel
34 Barkston Gardens, SW5 (Mo. Earl's Court)
Hotwire $65 + 13.21 = $78.21
free wireless; old hotel, but ok
The Earl's Court area is farther west from where I normally stay in London and it was an interesting neighborhood. Too far to go for most of the tourist stuff I like.
Possible theatre:
- Pinter's People
- 12th Night
- 39 Steps
- Don Juan in Soho
- History Boys - Wyndham's CC Road/St Martin's Court
- Bash - Trafalgar Studios, 14 Whitehall
Dinner @ Masala Zone, Earl's Court
Fri, 2/2/07
Holiday Inn London-Regent's Park
Carburton St/Bolsover St W1W (Mo. Great Portland St)
Hotwire $39 + $13.68 = $52.68! I remember trying different combinations of dates and lucking out with this low rate. Too bad it meant moving each night, though the good part is that I was able to sample several hotels new to me. Hotel was being painted on interior, but smell wasn't significant in the room
Pret a Manger lunch £4.74
Walked Hampsted Heath in the afternoon. I used the Pathfinder Guide In and Around London Walks, which I got at Stanford's on a previous trip, as a guide.
TKTS: 12th Night @ Old Vic £20
Zizzi, 33 Charlotte St £18.20
Sat, 2/3/07
Hilton London Olympia
380 Kensington High St W14 (Mo. High Street Kensington and a bus ride west)
Hotwire $104 + 7.15 = $111.15
Noisy!
Grande Latte £2.15 Coffee Republic Tottenham Court Rd
Masala Zone beer £2.75 + grand thali £9.45 + £1.22 service = £13.42
9 Marshall St W1
Easy Internet cafe £2
TKTS: 39 Steps @ Criterion £22
Sun, 2/4/07
Novotel London Euston
Priceline 4* Bid $75; total $95.90
5 minutes walk from Euston; repeat Priceline "win"
Walked over to North Sea Fish, but closed (Sunday, duh)
Malabar Junction lunch; £4.99 by the British Museum
Covent Garden scenes:
Pizza Express dinner; Euston Rd £18.55 Yeah, boring, but convenient.
Mon, 2/5/07
Signed up at LHR for Iris Recognition Immigration System too bad it expires 4 Feb 09
Travel Notes: Singapore-Malaysia Jan 07
Trip Diary (retrospective notes): Singapore-Malaysia, January, 2007
1/17/07; 1/18/07
United 837 SFO-NRT-SIN; Wed, Jan 17 1129A- Thu, Jan 18 330P
connecting to UA 803 SIN-NRT-SFO; Thu, Jan 18 530P - 1159P
SFO-NRT upgraded to C using 1K SWU, 5124 miles, seat 25F
NRT-SIN C, 3324 miles, seat 24G
B 747; Fare Class WXPRO10; $836.7
@SIN
Cheap airport shuttle a bust, as usual, since it wasn't leaving until 130A,though I checked the time anyway for due diligence, then joined the fairly long taxi queue.
Not much point to taking the airport shuttle unless it leaving almost immediately and there aren't many people on it. In my experience the airport shuttle almost invariably lets me off last. At least once the shuttle came very close to my hotel and passed on. It's not that less expensive than the taxi (and never worth it if traveling with someone). The MRT is cheap to the airport, but takes forever, and isn't an option after about 11PM.
1/19/07
Breakfast (not included at Hotel 81) at Killiney Kopitiam around the corner on Purvis. S$4; I guess it was a version of nasi lemak, plus the toast and kaya, plus coffee.
Internet cafe on Stamford Rd. S$5.25 to find hotel in Malacca and KL, using Asiatravel, but ended up booking directly with the Hotel Puri's Singapore office by mobile phone. I was looking for a hotel with character and wasn't particularly price sensitive, within reason.
I also considered the Baba House
After seeing both the Hotel Puri and the Baba House, I think the Puri was the better choice.
Coffee 1.20 with the usual struggle to stay awake the first day. Not at Starbucks!
Lunch 6.30 @ Bugis Junction foodcourt; "gourmet" claypot S$5 plus a drink
MTR to Lavender, then connecting bus after screwing around for a while trying to find offices for the VIP buses to Malacca and KL. I should have noted their addresses first, but I thought there would be easy to find signs. Nope. Lavender bus "station" is basically a big parking lot with some small temporary type offices for selling tickets. Nothing like a Malaysian or Thai bus station.
Bus ticket to Malacca $16 purschased for the next day @ 10A from Lavender bus station
I needed some RM and had wanted to check out Mustafa Centre in Little India anyway. It was within walking distance, but a taxi seemed an ok choice. Taxi $4 from Lavender station to Mustafa Centre. And almost stupidly lost my wallet in the taxi, but luckily the taxi couldn't move immediately because of a traffic jam and I retrieved my wallet from the back seat. Duh.
Changed S$ to RM at the always entertaining Mustafa Centre
Dinner: Chicken noodles $3; beer $5 at the handy (and cheap) Seng Huat on North Bridge road
Internet $3
Haagan Dazs in front of the Hilton for old times' sake. 4.70 for a single waffle cone
1/20/07
Breakfast $4 at Killiney Kopitiam
Top up mobile $18 @ 7/11 using a SIM with S'pore number from a previous trip
Taxi to Lavender bus station $6.50
Bus to Malacca took 2nd/Tuas border crossing
Lunch along the road @ Ayer Hitam 1230P RM8
Malaysian SIM RM5 bought in the Malacca bus station
Taxi from Malacca bus station to Hotel Puri RM10!, going rate 15. Beats me how I got this rate. The driver may have been illegal.
Hotel Puri RM172.50, room 310, free wireless internet in lobby. Rom was in the newer part of the hotel and was pretty charmless, though nice enough.
While in Malacca I did the usual tourist things, got lost at least once, and did a lot of walking.
Dinner at hotel RM15. Walked all over the area of the hotel and saw many restaurants, but most would have been best with another person. In the end, took the easy way out and had a quite dinner in the hotel's garden.
1/21/07
Breakfast included at Hotel Puri, somewhat of a mob scene.
Walked around again while it was till fairly cool. Got lost again.
Taxi to bus station RM 15. I asked the hotel to call a taxi after waiting a while on the street. It took forever to come after the call. Next time I'd probably just try to flag one down on the street and wait longer.
Bus ticket to KL Puduraya station RM9.50, on Transnational; the largest (?) Malaysia carrier. Of course, the bus didn't actually make it into the station because of usual jam outside the station. Since it wasn't raining this was only somewhat inconvenient. Finding the Swiss Inn was somewhat challenging. I had through the Hotel Furama would be a good landmark, but it was closed. Luckily someone pointed me in the right direction and I got there in 10 minutes walk from the bus station.
Swiss Inn RM108, superior room including breakfast, booked through Asiatravel, initially charged RM170, lesson learned: be sure to print travel agent confirmation! Room 530
Lunch chicken nasi RM5.50. Don't remember where this was, but it must have been some informal restaurant.
Basically walked around Chinatown for the day, not going further afield.
Dinner Tang City food court chicken noodles + beer RM5 + RM7.40
Bus ticket back to Singapore RM30.50 1/22 @ 10:30A, Transnasional
1/22/07
Lunch RM4.50 on the road back to S'pore; causeway border crossing
Internet S$3
Dinner S4 + S5.40 t at some stall or food court
1/23/07
Taxi from Hotel 81 Bugis to SIN S$18.45, 12.30 plus night differential 6.15
UA804 SIN-NRT 730A-255P
UA838 NRT-SFO 525P-920A
Notes and random jottings:
1/17/07; 1/18/07
United 837 SFO-NRT-SIN; Wed, Jan 17 1129A- Thu, Jan 18 330P
connecting to UA 803 SIN-NRT-SFO; Thu, Jan 18 530P - 1159P
SFO-NRT upgraded to C using 1K SWU, 5124 miles, seat 25F
NRT-SIN C, 3324 miles, seat 24G
B 747; Fare Class WXPRO10; $836.7
@SIN
Cheap airport shuttle a bust, as usual, since it wasn't leaving until 130A,though I checked the time anyway for due diligence, then joined the fairly long taxi queue.
Not much point to taking the airport shuttle unless it leaving almost immediately and there aren't many people on it. In my experience the airport shuttle almost invariably lets me off last. At least once the shuttle came very close to my hotel and passed on. It's not that less expensive than the taxi (and never worth it if traveling with someone). The MRT is cheap to the airport, but takes forever, and isn't an option after about 11PM.
Never paid attention before, but it's 18KM from SIN to Hotel 81 Bugis according to the receipt. Room rate $89 x 2 days for a windowless, aircon room. Clean and secure, if basic, with one of the full flood bathrooms without a separate shower stall. Non-squat, western toilet. The room was away from the lift so less noisy than some rooms. For whatever reason this Hotel 81 branch doesn't get the short time hotel crowd like the Palace in Geylang. I made the reservation online directly.
Of course, the driver didn't know where the hotel was, so directed to Shaw Towers and then the 1/2 block from there. I had found on a previous trip that directing to the Intercontinental is a bust since he has to make a U turn. I don't know why I try to avoid the Singapore taxis. They're pretty honest.
1/19/07
Breakfast (not included at Hotel 81) at Killiney Kopitiam around the corner on Purvis. S$4; I guess it was a version of nasi lemak, plus the toast and kaya, plus coffee.
Internet cafe on Stamford Rd. S$5.25 to find hotel in Malacca and KL, using Asiatravel, but ended up booking directly with the Hotel Puri's Singapore office by mobile phone. I was looking for a hotel with character and wasn't particularly price sensitive, within reason.
I also considered the Baba House
After seeing both the Hotel Puri and the Baba House, I think the Puri was the better choice.
Coffee 1.20 with the usual struggle to stay awake the first day. Not at Starbucks!
Lunch 6.30 @ Bugis Junction foodcourt; "gourmet" claypot S$5 plus a drink
MTR to Lavender, then connecting bus after screwing around for a while trying to find offices for the VIP buses to Malacca and KL. I should have noted their addresses first, but I thought there would be easy to find signs. Nope. Lavender bus "station" is basically a big parking lot with some small temporary type offices for selling tickets. Nothing like a Malaysian or Thai bus station.
Bus ticket to Malacca $16 purschased for the next day @ 10A from Lavender bus station
I needed some RM and had wanted to check out Mustafa Centre in Little India anyway. It was within walking distance, but a taxi seemed an ok choice. Taxi $4 from Lavender station to Mustafa Centre. And almost stupidly lost my wallet in the taxi, but luckily the taxi couldn't move immediately because of a traffic jam and I retrieved my wallet from the back seat. Duh.
Changed S$ to RM at the always entertaining Mustafa Centre
Dinner: Chicken noodles $3; beer $5 at the handy (and cheap) Seng Huat on North Bridge road
Internet $3
Haagan Dazs in front of the Hilton for old times' sake. 4.70 for a single waffle cone
1/20/07
Breakfast $4 at Killiney Kopitiam
Top up mobile $18 @ 7/11 using a SIM with S'pore number from a previous trip
Taxi to Lavender bus station $6.50
Bus to Malacca took 2nd/Tuas border crossing
Lunch along the road @ Ayer Hitam 1230P RM8
Malaysian SIM RM5 bought in the Malacca bus station
Taxi from Malacca bus station to Hotel Puri RM10!, going rate 15. Beats me how I got this rate. The driver may have been illegal.
Hotel Puri RM172.50, room 310, free wireless internet in lobby. Rom was in the newer part of the hotel and was pretty charmless, though nice enough.
While in Malacca I did the usual tourist things, got lost at least once, and did a lot of walking.
Dinner at hotel RM15. Walked all over the area of the hotel and saw many restaurants, but most would have been best with another person. In the end, took the easy way out and had a quite dinner in the hotel's garden.
Day View
And at dinner.
1/21/07
Breakfast included at Hotel Puri, somewhat of a mob scene.
Walked around again while it was till fairly cool. Got lost again.
Taxi to bus station RM 15. I asked the hotel to call a taxi after waiting a while on the street. It took forever to come after the call. Next time I'd probably just try to flag one down on the street and wait longer.
Bus ticket to KL Puduraya station RM9.50, on Transnational; the largest (?) Malaysia carrier. Of course, the bus didn't actually make it into the station because of usual jam outside the station. Since it wasn't raining this was only somewhat inconvenient. Finding the Swiss Inn was somewhat challenging. I had through the Hotel Furama would be a good landmark, but it was closed. Luckily someone pointed me in the right direction and I got there in 10 minutes walk from the bus station.
Swiss Inn RM108, superior room including breakfast, booked through Asiatravel, initially charged RM170, lesson learned: be sure to print travel agent confirmation! Room 530
Lunch chicken nasi RM5.50. Don't remember where this was, but it must have been some informal restaurant.
Basically walked around Chinatown for the day, not going further afield.
Dinner Tang City food court chicken noodles + beer RM5 + RM7.40
Bus ticket back to Singapore RM30.50 1/22 @ 10:30A, Transnasional
1/22/07
Lunch RM4.50 on the road back to S'pore; causeway border crossing
Internet S$3
Dinner S4 + S5.40 t at some stall or food court
1/23/07
Taxi from Hotel 81 Bugis to SIN S$18.45, 12.30 plus night differential 6.15
UA804 SIN-NRT 730A-255P
UA838 NRT-SFO 525P-920A
Notes and random jottings:
- Most Singapore transport was by bus and MTR using an EZ Link card from a previous trip.
- Used leftover S$ from previous trips and then hit an ATM using HSBC card by the City Hall/City Link passage. HSBC card didn't work in Malaysia, but I may have been trying it in a deposit only machine, now that I think about it. It worked on a subsequent trip in Malaysia.
- Jetstar to PNH: low cost carrier
- Lantern Festival Taiwan. Did this reference come from a travel show I watched along the way?
- Celtic Tides CD music must have been playing along the way
Friday, December 26, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Friday, December 05, 2008
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Monday, December 01, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Bokor Cambodia
Interesting article on an apparently recent trip to Bokor. The article mentions the road is currently closed.
Bokor figures prominently in the 2002 movie City of Ghosts. I see that Google Earth/Maps now has high resolution imagery of the immediate area.
Bokor figures prominently in the 2002 movie City of Ghosts. I see that Google Earth/Maps now has high resolution imagery of the immediate area.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Monday, November 03, 2008
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Berkeley College Prep Counselors and Associated Information
Here's some summary information and extracts about college preparation counselors local to Berkeley (California).
From Berkeley "Parents of Teens" newsletter, 31 Oct 08
College Discussion at College Confidential,...discussion forum for college admissions, financial aid, SAT prep
From Berkeley "Parents of Teens" newsletter, 31 Oct 08
College prep counselor needed for high school juniorNot Berkeley specific
-------------------------------------------
I can highly recommend Diane Ruyffelaere. I've been working with her for
several years on the BHS College Application Handbook and she really knows
both what the colleges are looking for in students (and on applications), and
how to help students define what they are looking for in choosing a college.
She can work with your daughter on finding several colleges that are good fits
for her, on preparing for the SAT and/or ACT tests, and/or on getting that
college essay written--before the start of Senior year! She knows her stuff
and is super friendly and helpful. She's working with my son right now, and
it's making the whole process of just finding a college a lot less stressful now
than it was looking a few months ago. She can be reached at druyffelaere@lmi.net
Good luck!
Nancy
-------------------------------------------
Ellen Lerner is great-- Intelligent, experienced, kind,
and resourceful. She is on the North Oakland/Berkeley
border, and her phone number is 510-652-7222.
--Stephanie, parent of BHS senior
College Discussion at College Confidential,...discussion forum for college admissions, financial aid, SAT prep
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Costa Rica Sea Turtle Project
Some links about opportunities for working with sea turtles in Costa Rica.
Volunteer Adventures
Volunteer Abroad
Ecology Project International
Volunteer Adventures
Volunteer Abroad
Ecology Project International
Monday, October 13, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Old posting on Military "Secrets"
Ran across this.
Newsgroups: sci.military
From: he...@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Date: 26 Mar 92 01:36:36 GMT
Local: Wed, Mar 25 1992 6:36 pm
Subject: Dirty Little Secrets, a mini-review
From he...@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
"Dirty Little Secrets", subtitled "Military information you're not supposed
to know", by James F. Dunnigan and Albert A. Nofi, William Morrow 1990.
Quick summary: disappointing, don't bother.
There is very little in this book that lives up to either the title or
the subtitle. It would be fine preparation for a military variant of
Trivial Pursuit, but that's about all. There are interesting tidbits
here and there, but it's not worth the price. I expected better from
Dunnigan.
This was all the more disappointing because it *could* have been a
fascinating, if perhaps slightly thinner, book if the authors had really
done some digging. There *are* dirty little secrets that you're not
supposed to know. (Samples... After the first operational Polaris
missiles were already at sea, it was discovered that their nuclear
warheads were defective and would not work. Nobody knows whether
Minuteman missiles could be launched from the operational Minuteman
silos, because every attempt to launch one from an operational-type
silo failed. [The Vandenberg training silos, which have launched many,
are a totally different design.] The great USAF-USN "shootout" between
Falcon and Sidewinder ended in humiliation for the USAF when repeated
attempts failed to so much as *launch* a Falcon. Aluminum armor is so
dangerous to troops behind it that Israeli soldiers will ride on the
*outside* of their aluminum-armored M113 APCs when there is risk of
serious enemy fire... and guess what the M2 Bradley uses for armor.
Flying a jet at 50 feet -- the altitude where most of them would try
to be in a real war against a dangerous opponent -- is so different
from flying at 200 feet that it takes considerable training for pilots
to fly effectively at the lower altitude, yet only two air forces in
the world train for it [the USAF not among them]. And so on.) Don't
expect to find any of them in this book.
--
GCC 2.0 is to C as SVR4 is to Unix. | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
-Dick Dunn | he...@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry
Newsgroups: sci.military
From: he...@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Date: 26 Mar 92 01:36:36 GMT
Local: Wed, Mar 25 1992 6:36 pm
Subject: Dirty Little Secrets, a mini-review
From he...@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
"Dirty Little Secrets", subtitled "Military information you're not supposed
to know", by James F. Dunnigan and Albert A. Nofi, William Morrow 1990.
Quick summary: disappointing, don't bother.
There is very little in this book that lives up to either the title or
the subtitle. It would be fine preparation for a military variant of
Trivial Pursuit, but that's about all. There are interesting tidbits
here and there, but it's not worth the price. I expected better from
Dunnigan.
This was all the more disappointing because it *could* have been a
fascinating, if perhaps slightly thinner, book if the authors had really
done some digging. There *are* dirty little secrets that you're not
supposed to know. (Samples... After the first operational Polaris
missiles were already at sea, it was discovered that their nuclear
warheads were defective and would not work. Nobody knows whether
Minuteman missiles could be launched from the operational Minuteman
silos, because every attempt to launch one from an operational-type
silo failed. [The Vandenberg training silos, which have launched many,
are a totally different design.] The great USAF-USN "shootout" between
Falcon and Sidewinder ended in humiliation for the USAF when repeated
attempts failed to so much as *launch* a Falcon. Aluminum armor is so
dangerous to troops behind it that Israeli soldiers will ride on the
*outside* of their aluminum-armored M113 APCs when there is risk of
serious enemy fire... and guess what the M2 Bradley uses for armor.
Flying a jet at 50 feet -- the altitude where most of them would try
to be in a real war against a dangerous opponent -- is so different
from flying at 200 feet that it takes considerable training for pilots
to fly effectively at the lower altitude, yet only two air forces in
the world train for it [the USAF not among them]. And so on.) Don't
expect to find any of them in this book.
--
GCC 2.0 is to C as SVR4 is to Unix. | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
-Dick Dunn | he...@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Google Map Maker adds edit capability for 17 more countries, including Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka http://ping.fm/ODRrp
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Tibetan Travel Agency
Posting seen in:
ORIENTAL-LIST@hmssurprise.org
There was/is 'Tibetan Connections is an international travel agency based
in Xining, Qinghai in the traditional Tibetan province of Amdo."
I talked to them last January and they seemed knowledgable of
Qinghai/Tibet but Google, since 11 Aug 08, only finds a cache of the
website ...which could be for various reasons.
Tibetan Connections
Guo Ji Cun Gong Yu
Building 5
Lete Youth Hostel
18th Floor
Xining, Qinghai China
Email: info@tibetanconnections.com
Tel: 86 971 820 3271
The Lete hostel is handy to the middle of Xining, 15 mins walk from the
main streets. TConnection was on the 16th flr.
When back in Beijing May 2008, I was told I'd need a police permit to bus
from Golmud to Dunhuang but it was issuable within a day.
Dave Nevin, Macau.
ORIENTAL-LIST@hmssurprise.org
There was/is 'Tibetan Connections is an international travel agency based
in Xining, Qinghai in the traditional Tibetan province of Amdo."
I talked to them last January and they seemed knowledgable of
Qinghai/Tibet but Google, since 11 Aug 08, only finds a cache of the
website ...which could be for various reasons.
Tibetan Connections
Guo Ji Cun Gong Yu
Building 5
Lete Youth Hostel
18th Floor
Xining, Qinghai China
Email: info@tibetanconnections.com
Tel: 86 971 820 3271
The Lete hostel is handy to the middle of Xining, 15 mins walk from the
main streets. TConnection was on the 16th flr.
When back in Beijing May 2008, I was told I'd need a police permit to bus
from Golmud to Dunhuang but it was issuable within a day.
Dave Nevin, Macau.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Dash Express size
The Dash site FAQ has a Q/A about the Dash Express size.
Q: Why so big?
A: "Dash Express has a large battery to support up to 2 hours of use without a power supply. Dash Express also has three antennas - GPS, GPRS and WiFi which makes the device a larger size."
The simplistic comparison is with iPhone Gen2, though.
Q: Why so big?
A: "Dash Express has a large battery to support up to 2 hours of use without a power supply. Dash Express also has three antennas - GPS, GPRS and WiFi which makes the device a larger size."
The simplistic comparison is with iPhone Gen2, though.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Yahoo oneConnect for iPhone
Can't find Yahoo oneConnect for iPhone by App search on the phone, but iTunes shows it. Pointer from ZDNet.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Yves Klein: Leap Into the Void
It's disillusioning to read that the Yves Klein photo, Into The Void, was contrived
Ho Chi Minh Trail Laos Vietnam Travel Research
This will be the anchor for trip planning on the Ho Chi Minh Trial in Vietname and Laos.
A good start is this post on a 6 day trip by motor bike starting from Vang Vieng to Thakhek.
A good start is this post on a 6 day trip by motor bike starting from Vang Vieng to Thakhek.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Beijing Courtyard Hotels
There's a discussion going on the mailing list Discussion of travel in China on Beijing courtyard hotels.
Here are some extracts from the postings:
Here are some extracts from the postings:
Some years ago we stayed at the Bamboo Garden, which was quite lovely and comfortable; here is an excerpt from their website (www.bbgh.com.cn), and though I can't vouch for the accuracy of the history which is reported, I can certainly vouch for its close-in location, helpful staff (with decent English), and a wish to go back:===================================
"Bamboo Garden Hotel Beijing is located in a tranquil lane on the westside of Gulou, built in a classic Chinese courtyard-style. It was the private residence of Sheng Xuanhuai, the postal department minister in late Qing Dynasty, and it was also said to be the garden of Andehai, the imperial eunuch. Since the late Qing Dynasty, a succession of celebrities such as Wang Yintai, Mahansan, Dong Biwu and Kangsheng have lived here."
Joe Luttrell
2 years ago we stayed at the Haoyuan Courtyard Hotel. Although ours was a basic room, it was nicely decorated and like all the rooms, opened up into a courtyard. The breakfast was good, and the staff were amazing. We had purchased a cell phone chip at the airport and were having trouble getting it to work. One of the staff walked us down to a shop nearby, explained the situation and got it fixed for us. It was a great introduction to our first time and first night in China.====================================
Last year we stayed at the Lusongyuan Courtyard Hotel. It too was nice, the breakfast was good, and the staff helpful. We chose it over the other as it seemed to be closer in walking distance to the places we wanted to go to, more centrally located. However, it was larger and there were more people staying there.
If we get the opportunity and are lucky enough to be able to go back, I think that I would chose the Haoyuan over the Lusongyuan, although either would be a good choice. It just seemed to be more intimate.
Marg
Some of the better new ones--in real courtyard homes--include the following.========================================
Cote Cour
Banqiao No. 4
Autumn Garden
Red Capital Residence.
I'm sorry I don't have the details handy now, but you can Google them. The first and last are on the expensive side, but the middle two are quite reasonable and comfortable.
Paul
=========================================Paul wrote:When I looked round this I thought it had been almost totally rebuilt from the ground up, I must admit, as well as overpriced (Y1295 rack for a standard room) and poorly staffed. There aren't many rooms (9 standard and 14 altogether), and the place was full when I looked at it, partly perhaps from having a quick burst of exposure in the foreign press.Some of the better new ones--in real courtyard homes--include the following.
Cote CourRed Capital Residence.
I haven't seen this, but I'd boycott it on the grounds of its owner's sycophantic relationship to senior Party leaders, and tasteless employment of the effects of those who died in the Cultural Revolution to decorate his restaurant.
The Lusong Yuan seems to be suffering from its own popularity, as it's now used by small tour groups, and its prices have risen considerably.
At the budget end of courtyard accommodation, the Templeside House Hostel is worth a look. It's a pruced-up traditional courtyard house with friendly staff in the hush of the hutong but in walking distance of the White Dagoba Temple and other sights, major Xi Dan shopping, and Fucheng Men subway station. Dorm beds to double rooms all share modern shower facilities, laundromat, and courtyard bar. This is basic, but family-run. www.templeside.com
Peter N-H
The Bamboo Garden is a Great hotel.
Typically the website doesn't mention that the courtyard now the Bamboo Hotel was also the residence of one of the members of the Gang of Four. This explains why there is a Nuclear Shelter (Bunker) in the garden. It is also the reason why it is so exceptionally well-preserved.
The Bamboo Garden is a 3-star hotel, however, service exceeds the 3-star service level, and almost all staff is very friendly and speaks English. Originally the rather simply decorated rooms in the northwest corner of the yard were cheap, while the luxurious rooms in the southeast corner were expensive. Popularity of the hotel has driven up prices of all rooms to the price level of an expensive 4-star hotel. Very central and convenient location.
Edwin Baak
Monday, August 25, 2008
Road to Ta Moan Thom to Be Built
Item in the Phnom Penh Post:
Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered military engineers to build a new 9km road from Prey Veng village in Oddar Meanchey province to the Ta Moan Thom temple complex near the Thai-Cambodian border in a cabinet meeting last week [week of 18 Aug 08].The complex of three temples is also known as Ta Muen, Ta Muen Toch, and Ta Muen Thom. Even if Cambodia occupies the primary border temple, Ta Muen Thom, it's probably not realistic for them to occupy the two other smaller sites farther down the road.
...
Thai soldiers occupied the Ta Moan Thom temple complex following an escalation in the dispute at Preah Vihear that began in July. They withdrew on August 5 after an agreement was reached between Thai and Cambodian leaders in Oddar Meanchey province, but appear to have reoccupied the ruins over the weekend, military commanders say.
The new road will run from Prey Veng village to a checkpoint gate constructed by Thai forces to prevent civilians and soldiers from accessing the temple. ...
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Friday, August 08, 2008
Monday, August 04, 2008
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Friday, August 01, 2008
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Lightweight "Travel" GPS in Direct Sunlight
I'm looking for a GPS that I can put on the handlebar of a moto (small motorcycle) or bicycle when traveling instead of having my Garmin Vista HCx in the carabiner stretch holster (Garmin part 010-10480-00) I've currently been using. The idea is to be able to view while riding, instead of having to stop/slow down to look at the screen.
Requirements:
--readable in direct sunlight
--waterproof
--relatively lightweight (especially for the bicycle scenarior)
--readable screen
--addon maps.
Other considerations:
--batteries (removable chargable; AA; non-removable)
--screen size
--controls (touch, button, manipulate relatively safely while moving)
Evaluation so far:
--the nuvi 270 isn't readable in direct sunlight as the HCx and 76CSx are, regardless of what I see in online reviews.
Requirements:
--readable in direct sunlight
--waterproof
--relatively lightweight (especially for the bicycle scenarior)
--readable screen
--addon maps.
Other considerations:
--batteries (removable chargable; AA; non-removable)
--screen size
--controls (touch, button, manipulate relatively safely while moving)
Evaluation so far:
--the nuvi 270 isn't readable in direct sunlight as the HCx and 76CSx are, regardless of what I see in online reviews.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Thai and Cambodian Troop Buildup at Preah Vihear
BBC reports:
I wonder if more mines have been cleared in the last couple of years since it didn't appear that there's not that much room past the no-man's land to deploy a lot of troops safely. The condition of the approaches favor reinforcements from the Thai side.
Cambodia and Thailand moved more troops into an ancient border temple, as a stand-off triggered by a territorial dispute entered its third day.
Four hundred Thai troops and 800 Cambodian soldiers are now stationed at Preah Vihear temple, a Cambodian military chief said.
I wonder if more mines have been cleared in the last couple of years since it didn't appear that there's not that much room past the no-man's land to deploy a lot of troops safely. The condition of the approaches favor reinforcements from the Thai side.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Friday, July 04, 2008
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Monday, June 09, 2008
Friday, June 06, 2008
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Monday, June 02, 2008
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Firefox 2: Failure in Chrome Registration
For what seems like months Firefox 2 has been giving me the unhelpful error message 3 times on startup:
Following restarts don't need this.
Firefox could not install this add-on due to Failure in Chrome registration. Please contact the author about this problem.but I've been too lazy to deal with it. A simple search turned up the fix, which is restart Firefox, but, when restarting, right click the Firefox icon and "Run as Administrator."
Following restarts don't need this.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Great Wall Advice Compilation
A compilation of advice on viewing Chinese Great Wall sites, mostly in the Beijing vicinity:
===================
===================
Great Wall close to Beijing?========================
I'd recommend trying to see the Great Wall at Simatai. It is in Guidebooks. I believe Simatai is the furthest publicly open section that still remains an easy day trip from Beijing. It takes about two hours by private car to reach it. I suspect that the difficulty arriving there by public transportation is the reason it is not smothered by hordes of tourists. There will be other people at Simatai, but nothing like the choking crowds at Badaling (which is easily accessible by public bus).
Simatai also offers the advantage that it has some infrastructure, but it has not been extensively or obtrusively rebuilt. Unlike Badaling, there is no Starbucks or movie theater. Some bricks are new, but most are not. It's very easy to find and photograph bricks bearing their original dates of manufacture. There is a cable car and tram to take one most of the way up the mountain (about 2 kilometers from the parking lot, over relatively inhospitable terrain), and then there are steps built into the mountain to walk up the last 600 meters or so.
The Wall at Simatai location is built along the crest of a steep mountain ridge. The views are breathtaking. Even though the wall is only open for about 1 Km at this stretch, I did not feel deprived in the least. There are many watchtowers and guard houses to explore. If I recall, the guardhouses appeared to be their original condition. After one walks along the wall through several watchtowers, a fence blocks the rest of the way with the announcement that beyond this spot the wall is not open to the public. I would not have ventured past this area anyway, for safety reasons. There are sheer cliffs and crumbling brick.
When I visited Badaling last Fall, it was a huge disappointment after having been to Simatai. The Wall is still spectacular, and I think the portion open at Badaling may be longer, but there is no comparison otherwise.
Alex
David Kasper wrote:In reality the Great Wall at Jinshanling is the furtherst that one can go and still make it a day trip from Beijing.
Indeed, the turning is less than 20km further on and it's a shorter distance from there to the Wall itself than at Simatai.It takes about two hours by private car to reach it.
That time will have been cut, or will shortly be cut, by the opening of the Beijing to Chengde expressway. This might also affect the volume of visitors, but there are certainly currently far fewer there than at Simatai, which is the darling of now innumerable tours run at (often absurdly high) prices by budget accommodation. Still, you wouldn't call Simatai crowded.
There are even fewer people than either at Panlong Shan, which is between the two (from a driving point of view). The three sites run west to east: Panlong Shan, Jin Shan Ling, Simatai. Panlong Shan might well be the best choice for Wendy, since just a little bit of work has been done to keep it intact, possibly quite illegally by local peasants who appear to be running the show and may not in fact have proper permission to do so, although a proper ticket is issued. The entrance fee is half that of the other sites, the decay of the Wall just enough to make it romantic yet easy to walk on, and there's none of the massive rebuilding to be found (although also to be walked away from) at Jin Shan Ling and Simatai. There are no cable cars, chair lifts, zip lines, or souvenir sellers of any kind. The problem with souvenir sellers is most intense at Simatai, and on the walk from Jin Shan Ling to there. They cling limpet-like to visitors for long periods and can completely spoil the experience for some.
It's possible to walk from here to Jin Shan Ling in about five hours at a steady dither, but about 1.5 hours of that is spent off the Wall as a military camp has to be skirted, and without detailed directions it's not hard to get lost.I suspect that the difficulty arriving there by public transportation is the reason it is not smothered by hordes of tourists.
But in the case of all three sites it's only a matter of getting on a Chengde bus and jumping off at the turning, then either walking or negotiating with waiting transportation.Simatai also offers the advantage that it has some infrastructure, but it has not been extensively or obtrusively rebuilt. Unlike Badaling, there is no Starbucks or movie theater.
Wasn't there a 'Lonely Planet Restaurant' last time I was there?
Mutianyu has the benefit that it can be reached at weekends on Chinese tour buses, and it's a very green site; busy, still with some backpacker tours, but not as busy as Ba Da Ling (nowhere is). It's cursed with souvenir sellers, but under better control, a chair lift, and a sled for coming down.
Anyone wanting a quick trip would be better to choose Juyong Guan over Ba Da Ling: It's nearer and has one tenth of the visitors (or less). This is a long swooping section completely rebuilt about ten years ago, no more or less authentic than Ba Da Ling. Souvenir sellers are kept under tight control and made to stay behind a line. It's easily reached by express aircon bus for ¥12 or less.
Decayed, not legally open but well-known, and not easy by public transport, would be Huanghua Cheng (where people walk round big signs forbidding entry, and pay local farmers a few kuai to walk through their orchards), and Jiankou, which is exceptionally steep even by Wall standards, and with its surface very badly broken up. It's possible to walk from here to Mutianyu, but serious boots and a head for heights both needed.
Result: For Wendy's requirements I'd recommend Panlong Shan, turning both left and right after mounting the Wall, with Jin Shan Ling as second choice. The Panlong Shan entrance (it's a 3km walk from there to the base of the Wall) is on the right immediately before the entrance to the Gu Bei Kou tunnel. Make an early start, buy a ticket for Gu Bei Kou on any Chengde-bound bus, and hop off at the entrance. On the way back cross the road, and flag down any bus with the Beijing characters in the window. Best to be doing that by 4pm or so. You have the other alternative of taking a bus going to Miyun, and a bus back to Beijing from there, the last one leaving around 6.30pm.
Peter N-H
May 26, 2008 at 10:29 AM
Sunday, May 25, 2008
QQ messaging
Signed up for the QQ messaging system, largely used in China, on English page. Now to see if QQ will/can be supported by meebo http://ping.fm/iZACr
update: Ok, QQ supported on GAIM structure, whi9ch had been discussed in 2006, so not impossible for meebo, just not now.
update: Ok, QQ supported on GAIM structure, whi9ch had been discussed in 2006, so not impossible for meebo, just not now.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Getting Help with Google Apps
So, as an extra duty, not assigned, I've been trying out Google Apps for a work site and have become frustrated working through the on line help for user management.
(The backstory is that we started with Google Team. Some users were invited, but not registered. We converted to Google Apps Standard Edition. The users who were invited, but didn't register don't show up on the user accounts management page and can't be deleted. There's some reason to believe that the stale invitations with the associated accounts will be deleted, perhaps in 5 days. Maybe not, though.)
Anyway, here's a posting in the Google Apps Admin help group that's seems helpful.
Update: Customer PIN is only needed for Premier and Education accounts
(The backstory is that we started with Google Team. Some users were invited, but not registered. We converted to Google Apps Standard Edition. The users who were invited, but didn't register don't show up on the user accounts management page and can't be deleted. There's some reason to believe that the stale invitations with the associated accounts will be deleted, perhaps in 5 days. Maybe not, though.)
Anyway, here's a posting in the Google Apps Admin help group that's seems helpful.
So if you are like me, you needed help and couldn't find out how toNow to find the customer PIN...
reach the Google Apps Support Team. Sure, you signed into Google Apps
with an Administrator account, and you clicked Help. Then you found a
tantalizing little link labeled "How do I contact the support team?"
which takes you to:
https://www.google.com/support/a/bin/static.py?page=contacting_suppor...
Then you hit brick wall number 1. No email address anywhere on that
page. In fact, here's the text so you can read it yourself:
********************
Need to contact our support team directly? We provide limited email
support for a small set of critical issues, where a service that was
setup correctly has stopped working (not including POP or IMAP). While
we read every email that we receive, you'll only hear from us
(generally in two business days) if we need to collect more
information. Please search the Help Center for instructions on domain
verification and activating email. If you need to report a service
that stopped working, we suggest visiting the Frequently Reported
Issues page.
********************
Then you started digging through the Help Center and the Discussion
Groups, and they said either... 1) log in as an administrator, go to
domain settings, go to account information, then find the section with
your Customer PIN: and the contact information on how to reach them.
Bang! Brick wall number 2. Sure you found your Customer PIN, but
there is mysteriously no link / email or anything else to use it with.
or 2) you find some random post in the Discussion Groups which says
you just need to email them at 'apps-supp...@google.com' with your
Customer PIN and screenshots right? Did that, I got a nice rejection
message stating:
*********************
Hello,
Thanks for your interest in Google Apps. This is an automated
response.
The message that you submitted won't reach our support team.
If you need assistance, please visit the Help Center at
http://www.google.com/support/a, or by clicking 'Help' in your control
panel. You can find answers to many frequently asked questions, and
get in touch with our support team by clicking 'Contact us.'
**********************
Feel like you are running in circles? Or did you get sneaky like me?
I followed the link above, and I was back where I started. I found
the link that "How do I contact the support team?" is supposed to take
you to, copied it and googled it looking for a cached version. Bingo!
The original support section read:
***********************
Need to email our support team? Classify your issue. Based on the type
of issue you're experiencing, you'll have the option to email us your
question or ask the admin community in the Discussion Group. We
generally respond within two business days via email.
************************
The phrase "Classify your issue" was a hyperlink to
http://google.com/support/a/bin/request.py
Finally, oh wait! Another brick wall! There is no "Other" section
under "Administration" / "Get help with a technical issue" which is
where my issue would fall. NOTE: My problem is the bad user count
issue many others had. So then you methodically search through each
of the technical support issues searching for the correct email
address or link to finally reach support and....
http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/request.py?contact_type=technical
You found a webform.. hooray, and it has a field for your Customer PIN
which up until now was completely useless. You fill out the webform,
and you get an actual confirmation email later, they got the
submission. And you attach screenshots to you reply... yeah! I hope
I get some support now.
This post is for the rest of you hunting for help from the Google Apps
Team. Kudos to those of you that skipped to the bottom.
Update: Customer PIN is only needed for Premier and Education accounts
Monday, May 19, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Friday, May 09, 2008
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Thursday, March 27, 2008
GPS: Garmin Nuvi versus Dash Comparison
I've been reading reviews of the Dash Express, which is just being dropped into general availability, though it appears that Amazon won't be shipping it until 27 March, 2008.
There doesn't seem to be a lot of data available yet comparing the Dash Express with currently available devices. Since I need to do this anyway, I'll come up with something for the Dash Express, my now back level Garmin nuvi 650, and a current traffic enabled Garmin nuvi.
----------------
Ok, first possibly fatal problem is that it's not clear how the Dash Express can be transferred between cars, which is a problem since I most often need GPS when in a rental car. And, since I travel a lot in rental cars in California, I can't affix the mount to the window, by law. Dash support says they're aware of the issue and it's not a straightforward fix, since the unit is bulky and heavy.
(to be continued)
There doesn't seem to be a lot of data available yet comparing the Dash Express with currently available devices. Since I need to do this anyway, I'll come up with something for the Dash Express, my now back level Garmin nuvi 650, and a current traffic enabled Garmin nuvi.
----------------
Ok, first possibly fatal problem is that it's not clear how the Dash Express can be transferred between cars, which is a problem since I most often need GPS when in a rental car. And, since I travel a lot in rental cars in California, I can't affix the mount to the window, by law. Dash support says they're aware of the issue and it's not a straightforward fix, since the unit is bulky and heavy.
(to be continued)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
GrandCentral Issues: Click2Call Problems Resurface
The last couple of days I've been noticing that GrandCentral's Click2Call is either unresponsive or takes multiple invocations to call my local number so that I can call out.
I don't see an outage notice, but, then, GrandCentral doesn't display outage notices in a prominent place. It would be helpful to have the range of informational --> critical outage messages in an easy to find place on their site.
I don't see an outage notice, but, then, GrandCentral doesn't display outage notices in a prominent place. It would be helpful to have the range of informational --> critical outage messages in an easy to find place on their site.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
D-Link DIR-655 Router
Picked this up at CostCo in Cypress, since, for whatever reason, it's not at the local one in Richmond, CA.
(Update: ok, it turns out that Richmond does have it. It was just in the locked case.)
There's a free support number, 888.822.9299, for Costco members, 24/7.
First step is to print out the settings from the old Netgear WGT624 router.
Update: no sweat setting this up and making it operational. I need to do some refining on the settings, though.
(Update: ok, it turns out that Richmond does have it. It was just in the locked case.)
There's a free support number, 888.822.9299, for Costco members, 24/7.
First step is to print out the settings from the old Netgear WGT624 router.
Update: no sweat setting this up and making it operational. I need to do some refining on the settings, though.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
ShifD: Share Note, Place, Link Between Phone and Computer
Starting to try out ShifD to interchange info between a PC, using either a web site or an Adobe AIR application, and a mobile phone using SMS messages.
Initially I tried out the function using just the web site, under my latest thinking of avoiding PC based applications, but I'm interested in Adobe AIR. So, I'm probably further junking up my laptop (and further tethering myself to a particular machine, but...)
Initially I tried out the function using just the web site, under my latest thinking of avoiding PC based applications, but I'm interested in Adobe AIR. So, I'm probably further junking up my laptop (and further tethering myself to a particular machine, but...)
LinkedIn Makeovers
A pretty spartan listing of tips on LinkedIn makeovers, with some focus on Guy Kawasakai's postings:
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/01/ten_ways_to_use.html
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/01/linkedin_profil.html
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/01/ten_ways_to_use.html
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/01/linkedin_profil.html
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
iPhone: Handset Speaker Stopped Working
After using my Iphone with the iPhone earbuds this morning, I took out the ear buds and found that the handset speaker/ringer (as opposed to the speakerphone) stopped working.
After powering the phone off and on a couple of times, as part of trouble shooting I found:
--speakerphone function worked
--ear buds worked
--bluetooth worked.
I tried the Apple iPhone support site and did two of the non-destructive resets without success. Just about the time I was ready to trek to an Apple store to have them fool around with it, I plugged in and unplugged the ear buds a couple of times and now the handset speaker/ringer works again as desired.
Is there some sort of mechanical switch that is tripped when the plug for the ear buds is inserted that stuck in the wrong position?
After powering the phone off and on a couple of times, as part of trouble shooting I found:
--speakerphone function worked
--ear buds worked
--bluetooth worked.
I tried the Apple iPhone support site and did two of the non-destructive resets without success. Just about the time I was ready to trek to an Apple store to have them fool around with it, I plugged in and unplugged the ear buds a couple of times and now the handset speaker/ringer works again as desired.
Is there some sort of mechanical switch that is tripped when the plug for the ear buds is inserted that stuck in the wrong position?
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Timebridge: Repetitive Meetings
Now that Timebridge has Google Calendar integration, I'm trying to use it for more of my meetings among those who don't share the same calendar system.
I ran into a case today where I want to schedule a meeting each Monday, but, as far as I can tell, there's no way to set up a standing meeting. If the Timebridge conference call function is to be used, it also should be available for each of the meeting repetitions.
Update: I received a note from Timebridge support that adding support for repetitive meetings is on their development roadmap. (5 Mar 08)
I ran into a case today where I want to schedule a meeting each Monday, but, as far as I can tell, there's no way to set up a standing meeting. If the Timebridge conference call function is to be used, it also should be available for each of the meeting repetitions.
Update: I received a note from Timebridge support that adding support for repetitive meetings is on their development roadmap. (5 Mar 08)
Friday, February 15, 2008
Grand Central: Site Not Responsive
This will teach me to recommend a beta service. The Grand Central site seems just plain non-responsive for the last 1/2 hour or so.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Road Conditions in the Anlong Veng, Cambodia Area
Babu posted about some activities in the Anlong Veng area that included some information about traveling there from Siem Reap. I commented on the blog entry, but there wasn't any followup. Anyway, so as not to lose the thought, I'll repeat most of the comment here.
I appreciated the news that there is road improvement progress between Siem Reap and Anlong Veng. Now that the independent tourist overland route between Poipet and Siem Reap is becoming more and more expensive, overland to Siem Reap from the north is becoming more and more attractive.
Is the road to the north sealed much past Banteay Srei? I understand from your blog entry that the part that's not paved is graded. Is it your impression that the grading will extend past Anlong Veng to the border?
I was also interested to read about the school building efforts. Is it your impression that school and library construction efforts such as Room to Read's (http://www.roomtoread.org/countries/cambodia.html) have been effective? I realize that this question may be too broad to answer.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Handheld GPS: Garmin Colorado and Vista HCx
My Garmin eTrex Vista HCx, which I've had for less than a year, may be lost forever, so I'm looking for a replacement.
The obvious first choice would be the same thing, an eTrex Vista HCx.
However the new Garmin Colorado, either 300 or 400t, are worth considering.
Some considerations:
--size: Colorado is 2.4"W x 5.5"H x 1.4"D, HCx is 2.2" x 4.2" x 1.2" (the Garmin web site, for some reason isn't consistent in listing W-H-D in the same order)
--weight: Colorado 7.3oz; HCx 5.5oz
--display size: Colorado 240x400 pixels - 3" diagonal; HCx 176x220
--battery life: Colorado 15 hours; HCx 25
--chipset: Colorado- Garmin proprietary; HCx SiRF III
--datacard: Colorado SD, though it appears that 4GB is the limit supported with SDHC; HCx microSD
Some unanswered questions:
--the Colorado has a "Transflective color TFT"; the HCx has 256 level color TFT. What's the functional difference, if any? There is at least one report that the transflective TFT technology is less readable out of doors as well as discussion about the display.
--apparently the Colorado lacks a "night mode," which affects the screen brightness and colors displayed.
--is startup time too long?
--is Trackback feature needed?
--USB 1.1 only?
--no street names with City Nav loaded
--no waypoint averaging
--map borders clutter screen (I've seen this on other units)
--lists don't scroll around, but have a beginning and end
--zooms only to 80 feet
This page lists many perceived deficiencies and this one lists issues.. It's hard to know which of these can be changed/fixed with a firmware update, assuming that Garmin wanted to make the change in the first place.
One concern I haven't yet seen mentioned elsewhere is, with the non-SiRF chipset, can the Coolorado ever take advantage of Ephemeris APGS to reduce time to fix. Perhaps the function or its equivalent is already included?
The obvious first choice would be the same thing, an eTrex Vista HCx.
However the new Garmin Colorado, either 300 or 400t, are worth considering.
Some considerations:
--size: Colorado is 2.4"W x 5.5"H x 1.4"D, HCx is 2.2" x 4.2" x 1.2" (the Garmin web site, for some reason isn't consistent in listing W-H-D in the same order)
--weight: Colorado 7.3oz; HCx 5.5oz
--display size: Colorado 240x400 pixels - 3" diagonal; HCx 176x220
--battery life: Colorado 15 hours; HCx 25
--chipset: Colorado- Garmin proprietary; HCx SiRF III
--datacard: Colorado SD, though it appears that 4GB is the limit supported with SDHC; HCx microSD
Some unanswered questions:
--the Colorado has a "Transflective color TFT"; the HCx has 256 level color TFT. What's the functional difference, if any? There is at least one report that the transflective TFT technology is less readable out of doors as well as discussion about the display.
--apparently the Colorado lacks a "night mode," which affects the screen brightness and colors displayed.
--is startup time too long?
--is Trackback feature needed?
--USB 1.1 only?
--no street names with City Nav loaded
--no waypoint averaging
--map borders clutter screen (I've seen this on other units)
--lists don't scroll around, but have a beginning and end
--zooms only to 80 feet
This page lists many perceived deficiencies and this one lists issues.. It's hard to know which of these can be changed/fixed with a firmware update, assuming that Garmin wanted to make the change in the first place.
One concern I haven't yet seen mentioned elsewhere is, with the non-SiRF chipset, can the Coolorado ever take advantage of Ephemeris APGS to reduce time to fix. Perhaps the function or its equivalent is already included?
Friday, February 08, 2008
GrandCentral: Quickrule
GrandCentral has a "quickrule" function that allows one to send all incoming calls to voice mail or forward to a temporary number.
There probably should be some sort of reminder function to make sure someone doesn't set one of these and forget about it.
There probably should be some sort of reminder function to make sure someone doesn't set one of these and forget about it.
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