Plink Plink

On Cornell's campus, there is a pedestrian walkway that traverses the roof of the extended ground floor of the Olin Library. The Olin Library is a classic 1970s modernist building, that some have referred to as "looking like a punch-card."

Now, this walkway to which I am referring has become one of my favorite little places to encounter as I walk across campus. You see, due to the fact that the walkway is on the roof of a lower part of the building, it sometimes has rocks scattered about on it (the rocks are the ballast from the roof below). These rocks are the fun part. When you kick them, as they bounce and roll across the concrete pavers, they go "plink, pl-plink plink plink" in a most beautiful array of staccato tones. It sounds kind of like a xylophone. Hmmm... building-as-musical-instrument. Life shows us beauty in the most unexpected places.

Ithaca is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. What a change from the industrial cathedral of Cleveland-- Rosie has already stopped sneezing as often as she used to.

So the lifestyle change from the work-a-day world to academia-world is proving to be a slight shock, even though I've only been out of undergraduate school for three-and-a-half years. I mean I'm not reeling or anything, but let's just say you can't leave graduate studies at the office. No more 'home by 7:00 PM and forget about the day.' Not even a chance. Don't get me wrong-- I love what I'm studying. It's just tough to start letting a non-personal endeavour permeate my life again. But change reminds us of who we are, so...

Over at Opensewer we have quite a few things a brewin'. The artist database structure is complete, thanks to Scott, and we'll be implementing it over the next few months. We have many new artists booked, notably photographer Deborah Pinter and filmmaker Robert Banks. We're quite excited about Robert because this is the first time that we'll be exhibiting time-based media (film, in this case) on OS. And this guy's work is wired, so get ready. (For more on Robert Banks, see the entry for Tuesday, August 8, 2000.) Oh, and last week the folks at Pyra selected OS as "blog of the week." Yay!

We're here (Ithaca, I mean)... we've been here for days... the Verizon strike is just ending... can't get a telephone line for at least three weeks... updating websites from Cornell campus... stay tuned...

Packing Status:
Progress: 75%. Pace: Frantic.

Ah, morning coffee. Calm before the storm. A moment of relaxation before the day begins.

Boy, do I sound like a 2:30 PM soap-opera television commercial or what? But I like morning coffee, I do. It’s really quite a Zen thing. I suppose, however, it’s not just about the coffee. It’s about the stillness. Contemplation, silence. If firmly believe that this good for the soul. It’s good for self-awareness.

In an essay I read some time ago (I can’t remember what it was called or who it was about), a man, about sixty years old, who was well-respected in this world as a thinker, was being asked about what he thought made him different from the rest of us. What gave him the ability to think about things in a way that seemed a bit deeper, a bit more insightful than the rest of the world?

There is nothing special about me,” he answered. “Anyone has the ability to think deeply and critically. However, one thing that has worked for me, in particular, is to spend one-half hour each morning doing absolutely nothing, except thinking. No reading, no talking, no writing, no figuring things out, no planning for the day. That simple act, the act of denying intrusions from entering the mind for just a brief period each day, has made all the difference in my life.”

You know what? He knew what he was talking about.

So the packing has begun. Progress: None. Pace: Glacial.

Resolving not to be forced to live out of boxes for multiple weeks, we have delayed the majority of our packing until now, five days before we move. So to start off right, we decided to kick off the process with a party, which in my opinion is the proper way to kick most things off. It was one of those "just a few special friends, oh yes, we're keeping it quite small, we want to really spend some quality time with our closest chums" kind of things. Yes, great idea. Except for the fact that we ended up staying until 4:00 AM, we're walking dead this morning, now we have to meet our parents for dinner at 2:00 PM today, and we haven't gotten a stitch of packing done yet.

So far, so good!

This is awesome... an interview on NPR's Fresh Air with Craig McCracken, creator of the Powerpuff Girls. Fast forward to the 36:00 minute marker in the show to hear it! (Real Audio Player required.)

Over at Opensewer we've started an action against Wal-Mart. Essentially, we're endorsing a boycott of the store. Does this action hold any chance of making a real difference? If not, what actions would be more effective? We're currently organizing future on-site interventions (where we will hand out information and talk to people face to face), to bring the message closer to home. Other than that... What do you think?

Robert Banks... boy genius. Rosie and I had quite an interesting session today with Robert, shooting footage for several films, including an OS promo piece. Look for Robert's work to premier soon on Opensewer. He'll also be showing several of his films at the BBC Short Film Festival in London this September. So, if you're in the neighborhood, take a moment to drop by. Some photos from today's shoot:

Action is up at Opensewer. Check it, and do something. Today, we're off to dirty up some 8mm stock with bleeding-edge filmmaker Robert Banks. Wait until you see this...

Enjoy Mr. Wheelie:

The Leader

A sketch of the Coliseum in Rome... but just the part I'm interested in: the guts, the structure under the floor where the fighters and animals were staged before battle.

Rome was such an intense city. My second trip to Italy, the one I made with Rosie, didn't even include a trip there. This surprised many people: "How can you not go to Rome?"

Rome is arguably the most metropolitan city in Italy (some would say Milan); it feels a bit like an older, more ornamental, smaller New York City. It's noisy, complex, long, a bit rowdy, and full of Gypsies. And there are just too many churches, sculptures, fountains and too many incoming train tracks at the stazione.

June 1994: So we decided to go to St. Peter's Basilica on free day, the day of the week where everyone is allowed into the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, etc., free of charge. I think it was Tuesday. We thought this would be a great idea, and it would have been... had 300,000 other tourists and Italians not come up with exactly the same idea.

Needless to say, we were in "line" for a large portion of the day (I say "line" facetiously because Italians have no concept of the "line." To them, line up means "everybody rush toward the entrance and cram together until nobody can move and everyone is pissed-off and yelling at each other").

We were fortunate enough to be waiting next to a class of Sicilian elementary students. Let me assure you, Sicilian elementary students are approximately 500 times louder and more obnoxious than your standard issue Italian elementary students (which are, in turn, 500 times louder than American elementary students). These kids were climbing the battered walls of the Vatican, apparently thinking that this would allow them to get in before everyone else. They were the most animated kids I'd ever seen, and they had a leader.

There was one little dark-haired girl, the same age as the rest, that seemed to be running the show. She was the ringleader; she bossed them around, verbalizing commands with words and arms flying everywhere. She was in control; it was amazing. It was one of those times when you really realize just how different cultures can be. Kids in America simply don't have that kind of self-awareness. I'd never seen a person with such confidence, ever, and she was 9 years old.

I think, some day, she may be running the world.

Observation No. 3

You can make a pretty good coffee filter out of a paper towel, if you're desperate enough. You'll need a stapler and scissors for top performance. Here you go:

Enjoy!

The Center of The Universe for One Shining Evening

So on Saturday Rosie and I reaffirmed our marriage to the world (check here for the elopement story), and I have to say, it was the party of the year. Here we are, together, a few minutes before the celebration began:

It's interesting, because when you plan a party of this size (over 200 people), there are so many things that can go wrong. And many things, during the planning process, did go wrong. From almost not having our space constructed on time, to our first band standing us up one month before the big day, we had our fair share of difficulties. But the important thing is, now, today, thinking back... we pulled it off! Rosie deserves the credit for making it happen; I was her (mostly) eager assistant these past several months.

The evening was amazing- the party went from 6:00 PM 'till after midnight, and it seemed like a beautiful blink of the eye. I wish it could have gone on for days. It's really hard to believe, but everything was flawless (except for my crying on stage- I really didn't want the folks at my office to see that). We couldn't have asked for a smoother, more perfect, more passionate, more exciting, more fun, more memorable, more touching, more emotional evening.

Highlights? Where do I begin... Rosie's dad (now 72 years old) jamming on the accordion while she led the ladies in dancing the Miserlu... the cake fight that got out of hand... the naughty messages on the big board of magnetic poetry... Rose's fairy-tale descent down the grand staircase... the Native American invocation... the amazing food... the dancing... the dancing... (and did I mention) the dancing... the band (consummate professionals; they swung the house down)... the unfinished bathrooms with curtains (!) between the stalls... the most beautiful 1930s ballroom you've ever seen... the 50 foot long bar... seeing people we haven't seen in 8 years... seeing our family from California... seeing our family from Maryland... seeing our friends from New York, from Pennsylvania, from Virginia... seeing all of our friends... bonding with 200 people simultaneously...

It was the most wonderful thing I've ever experienced. This tops everything.

Well, today's the big day. I'll talk to ya when I come up for air.

This is quite an interesting firm.

The Man-Shower (Don't be afraid)

Okay, so I’m already married, but we’re having a kick-ass wedding reception this coming Saturday (T minus 3 days and counting). The story so far: eloped in February, reception in July; makes perfect sense as far as I’m concerned.

Anyway, along with the wedding (reception) itself, there are certain little events that happen along the way to further increase the joy and/or mania of the whole bacchanalia. One of these events is the “shower.” Now, traditionally, this is geared toward the bride, and the man has a “bachelor party.” But, as I am not that kind of guy, you know the rowdy, beer-drinkin’, sports-watchin’, recliner sittin’ type, the brethren of my newly expanded family decided that I should have a man-shower. Now, I know, it sounds a little weird, but bear with me.

Part of that man-shower will take place this Friday, when several of us will engage in a day of golf festivities (I have absolutely no golf ability), followed by eating festivities and possibly later some drinking festivities. Now that will be fun.

However, another part of the man-shower schedule of events has already taken place, and that is the bestowing of the man-shower gift. Now, Rosie received about 3,000 gifts at her shower, so the men thought I should have some semi-equivalent gift-compensation. So Monday I ventured to the far west side of Cleveland to receive my man-shower gift. Here’s what they got me, lucky sap that I am:

Thanks, guys, you sure know how to pick ‘em. To date, it’s my nicest material possession.

The way I see it is, I'm XXVII years of age, and I can't seem to strap myself into doing one kind of thing. No matter what my station in life, I always think that there is something else out there that's at least as (if not more) interesting as what I'm doing at any given time. So I try to do everything. This, by my way of thinking, presents a problem in that I cannot be happy unless I am exploring something new at all times. I get restless.

The other problem is, my favorite thing to do, more than work, more than produce, more than succeed, more than figure-out, is to daydream. I prefer daydreaming over almost every other human activity. That doesn't fit into the scheme of things. Nobody wants to pay you to daydream.

Here's a sketch of a favorite Piazza of mine in Florence. It wasn't the most beautiful or popular place in the city (and it was used as a parking lot during the day), but it had a scale and intimacy that I liked. It very much felt like an urban room.

The Presence of The Dead in Chloride

Back in 1996, my best friend and I drove cross-country, from Cleveland to San Francisco and back. We took the southern route going (which covered a good portion of old Route 66), and the northern route coming back. One of the pleasant surprises about the trip going was the fact that we (for one reason or another) spent several days in New Mexico. Two of those days were spent in and around Albuquerque, and the rest of our time there was spent in places which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. One of those places was a town called Chloride.

Chloride, we later learned, is a former boom town that prospered during the Gold Rush. It is located at the end of the line (literally) of one of New Mexico's state routes. We drove fifty miles in, and there's the town, and that's it… no through roads, no other towns. Just Chloride and one way out- the way we came in.

The town, by our best estimate, had a living population of about twenty-five people, with no industry to speak of (unless the small general store in the center of town counts as industry). We found the store owner to be quite talkative and friendly. In fact, during the course of our conversation, we learned that he and his wife grew up in our home town, Cleveland.

"Yep, we moved out of Cleveland about thirty years ago," he said, "When the niggers started moving in."

'Nuff said. Suddenly concerned with our personal well-being (considering that these were the only living people we had encountered in town so far), we walked on.

We continued down to the end of the town's only street and up a hill, where we discovered an ancient (by American standards) graveyard. This was the first town I'd ever been where the living population was far outnumbered by the dead.

There was something truly present about this graveyard… something that brought it to the forefront of my consciousness in a way that I had not yet experienced, even in other places where I had been surrounded by the dead. I could tell that my traveling companion felt the same way. The people that lived here had a strange ritual of marking territory around the gravesites, in addition to placing headstones on the graves. They built small metal and wood structures around them, placed rocks on them, and most interestingly, placed what looked like ornamental bed frames on top of the graves. I suddenly understood, at age twenty-three, what it meant to stand in a sacred place.

My traveling companion was no less moved, and he refused to refrain from telling me so approximately every five seconds. In fact, after spending about fifteen minutes standing there in awe, his constant talking began to distract me. "Awwww… this is amaaaaazing!" was the nature of things he kept uttering.

I suppose this place had a power and influence that was to remain unaffected by any sort of bothersome distractions that occurred during our visit. But at the time I kept thinking, "Can't you just be quiet and simply be for a moment? Just stand there and take it in. We don't need a running commentary!"

I was a little angry.

Today, four years later, the sting of that distraction has faded to the point that I only think about it in passing. However, my place-memory of that graveyard remains as vivid as ever.

Observation #46

The human is the ultimate shock absorber. Think about it: no invention created by mankind (to date) can hold a steaming cup of coffee in a car that is going 40-45 MPH over multiple road bumps on a curve. But the human can. With its arm outstretched, bent just slightly at the elbow, gently gripping said cup of coffee, the human is able to absorb just about any shock that comes its way. True beauty.

Observation #731

The bag (sometimes referred to as the "sack") is an absolutely wonderful invention, I was thinking to myself this morning. It has the obvious advantage of allowing one to carry multiple items at once, using only one hand. But the advantages of the bag do not end there. Upon further reflection, I realize that utilizing the bag is beneficial even when carrying only one item within it. With a proper handle installed, it allows you to tote the item, sometimes using only one finger (!), while carrying multiple other objects, many of which can be quite bulky and awkward. These objects present no threat to the bag.

Here's to the bag.

So today after a rather long meeting with one of my favorite clients, the crew at the office took me out for a nice "goodbye" lunch. I suppose this event officially puts me in that strange state of limbo between "[sniff] Man, I'll miss you guys soooo much," and "God, I can't wait to get otta here."

I love it here- my job, Cleveland, our funky little apartment, all of it. And I'll miss it. Still, the closer Rosie and I get to leaving, the more I just can't wait for this move to happen. You see, Cleveland, at times, seems like a city that is full of people who are afraid to do things, afraid of the progressive. And it's time to move to a place where people aren't as afraid. At least for a while. (But perhaps I'm foolish for thinking that such a place even exists.) Hmmm...

On July 29, Rosie and I are throwing a big bash to show the world how much we love each other, and to affirm our marriage publicly for our family and friends (since they missed the original big event back in February when we eloped). This stands to be one of the most fabulous events in my life so far... one of those moments of extreme consciousness I think. I'll need all of the consciousness and clarity I can get in order to make it through the next few weeks.

Is It Evil?

We have a new Rant at Opensewer discussing the evils of mini-storage warehouses. Why are we picking on mini-storage? Read the article and find out.

Rosie has shown me the value of spending a large amount of my time barefoot. This includes: barefoot at home, barefoot at the office (well, sometimes with socks), barefoot driving, and of course the popular barefoot at the park. Wow, it's really quite wonderful. Feet are amazing little structures to look at, too.

Sometimes, just walking around, observing things, it hits me: the earth is so beautiful. Do we even appreciate how beautiful the earth really is?

I just learned that the sprawling communities which are thriving miles south of Cleveland are referred to as “The Southern Corridor.” Wow. That sounds much better than what I’m used to calling them. I've always thought of them as “the lily-white suburbs with the big malls.” I'm not bitter.

When driving in the city (which constitutes the bulk of my driving), I like do it “Asteroids-style.” As in, Asteroids the classic 1979 video game. What this means is that I only use the accelerator intermittently, kind of like the “thrust” button worked in the arcade. This technique works especially well on Woodland Avenue on my drive to work in the morning, because much of it is downhill. Here we go: top of the hill… go through the gears… round about East 76th I disengage the clutch… pop it in neutral… coast… never once have I gone above 1800 RPM. It’s truly an art. I love Newton’s first law.

Opensewer was amazing last night. Absolutely the best meeting yet… quite emotional, too. The discussion was intense and at times confrontational, but there was a whole lotta' love there. People were really connecting. Once everyone had arrived and the discussion had been going for a while (let's say, around 8:30 PM), I looked around and thought to myself, "This is it. This is what it's all about. This is exactly what we've been trying to accomplish with Opensewer."

People were so engaged with one another, and everyone's mind was so sharp. I was happy.

The meeting could have ended right there and I'd have considered it a success. But, as it was, it went right on until midnight. Rosie's brother, Frank showed up with his son (also Frank) who is about twenty. He was the youngest person at the meeting, and had a few of the most insightful comments. The spread of ages last night was wonderful: the different ways that older and younger people think about the same issues add an extraordinary amount of texture to the discussion.

More good news: it looks like Devin and Amanda (two OS regulars) are going to take over the Cleveland group. That means the OS will not die here when Rosie and I move to Ithaca. I'm so relieved.

Message to Scott and Megan: we missed you last night.

DANGER: An over-ripe sense of competition will trap you into living a life based on other people.

So Rosie and I spent the weekend in Ithaca, New York, looking for a place to live during my tenure in graduate school at Cornell University. The first thing that needs to be said is that it's mind-numbingly beautiful here. The surrounding landscape is truly amazing-with its rivers, mountains in the distance, and the gorges (one minute you're walking on what seems to be flat land, the next minute you're on a bridge standing over a 200-foot deep slice in the earth). Cornell is the only university campus I've ever seen that doesn't seem to have any ugly parts. And the architecture is wonderful: immaculately detailed traditional buildings, and some of the finest examples of modernist academic buildings I've ever seen.

We think to ourselves, "Well, since this is the Ivy League, we'll be around some of the most intelligent, well-behaved students in the country."

Wrong! The undergraduates here are the same beer-swillin', house trashin' degenerates I came to know and love so well at my former alma mater, Kent State University. It's no wonder we had such a hard time finding a place to live that wasn't owned by a slum-lord. I suppose to some degree you can't blame these property owners: would you spend thousands of dollars per month maintaining a building only to see it destroyed the very next semester by hyperactive undergrads? However, even considering that, the condition of some of these places made me want to stab my eyes out.

But is was a fantastic weekend, especially our brief hike over the Buttermilk Falls. Spending most of the trip off-line (except for my interview with Vicky Love on Friday) provided for a most peaceful experience.

In The Margins (Warning: stream of consciousness ahead.)

Sometimes it seems that the only time to pursue the things that one truly loves is in the margins. The marginal time- the time before or after you spend your day paying your dues to the world… making your contribution to the economic machine.

Think about it. When someone is working at something they truly love, they are usually doing their best possible work. They are most likely doing that one thing that is the most valuable thing they can offer the world. But all good soldiers must go to work and play their part. And that's the way it should be, right? There's no room in society for people who want to sit around and think all day… even if what they're doing is for the betterment of society.

Why is there no place in society for those who want to spend their days thinking about (and then acting on) how to make the world a better place? Oh, sure… supposedly that's what we're all doing every day at work, right? Not quite: we're there to make money. We're there to better ourselves only.

Why can't we humans, we Americans, support an effort that allows those who wish to simply dedicate themselves to bettering the world do so without being encumbered by the burden of economics? Why does it seem to be a requirement that every single thing that is produced by someone have some sort of monetary value attached to it? When are we going to start measuring value in more than simply dollars?

If we measured value in ways that transcended money, our society would begin encouraging people to pursue much deeper, more intellectual, more creative, more caring, more selfless, more human activities. And we would improve. We would see true progress, not just the façade of progress that improvements in technology give us.

A better standard of living does not equal a better people. Better minds and better souls do. Let's bring our truly human endeavors out of the margins.

Killer party at Suzi's last night. Right on the lake... quite beautiful. Special bonus at last night's gathering: insane firecracker pyromania. Here's a picture: Rose on the left, and Suzi (the perpetrator) on the right:

So I feel the need to say a little something about these architectural exams I’ve been taking. Why? Perhaps a need to vent. Who knows…

These exams are crazy. So far it seems that I’ve been taking tests nearly every weekend this summer. And studying every day. It’s getting a bit tiring. It’s like this constant, looming, never-ending task always hanging above my head. And all on top of everything else I have to do.

Most of the tests are 3-4 hours each, but a few, the ones I’ve been taking recently, are 5-7 hours long. I’m exhausted when they’re done. I come home and fall right asleep.

On top of the effort it takes to pass all of these tests, there’s the cost: $1,200 to sit for all nine exams. Plus the cost of any study materials. Professional certification is critical, I know. If we’re going to be designing buildings, we must have a high level of competence when it comes to life safety. However, these fees seem a bit ridiculous for a profession that typically pays about the same as accounting.

Architecture has it own rewards. You get to see the lines from your pencil transform into a real, built structure. You get to mark the earth. That’s a wonderful feeling. It’s a feeling of responsibility and stewardship toward the planet— a recognition that you must do what you do very carefully because the well being of other people depends on it. But, as an architect, unless you become a “star,” you’ll experience a world that doesn’t see that value of design and critical thinking skills. Most clients will be happy with a pre-fabricated metal building, a few drywall offices, and an ocean of grid ceiling.

I suppose that’s part of the reason I’m expanding my horizons.

On the highway this morning, on the way to do some in-line skating at the park, we found ourselves trailing a red Ford Probe. It had a personalized license plate that read, "SUCCES."

Now, I imagine that the intent here was that the plate read "success," but as it's written it would most likely read "suck-es." How sad.

Here is how my head feels this weekend:

A Pleasant Exchange

So last night Rosie and I are waiting for a red light at the intersection of West 6th & St. Clair in the Warehouse District, and this real "cool" lookin' dude rolls up behind us on a motorcycle. Too impatient to wait for the light, he rolls around us into the intersection, does a complete U-turn, and pulls up to the restaurant on the other side of the street. I honk my horn.

"You got a problem, buddy?" he says, in this lame, Andrew-Dice-Clay-like voice.

I say, "What, you have special traffic laws that apply only to you?"

"You're a moron," he replies.

I think to myself, "You want to be cool just like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, don't you?"

Cheeseball.

Why is [almost] everyone in their twenties such a know-it-all? There is so much competition; so much "oh, I've done that, too," amongst my confidence-lacking (or over-confident) peers. Why can't young people, people my own age, just be cool and learn to listen to what others have to say once in a while? I have decided that it's much more enriching to work and hang with people that have a bit of experience and age under their belt. Or at least a bit of wisdom.

Fear surrounds and traps you.

Cleveland is very segregated. I've heard it said that (with respect to African-Americans and Caucasians) Cleveland is one of the most segregated cities in the United States.

In our city's history, as in the history of many other American cities, the people with money and power (white almost without exception) made it this way intentionally. Of course, it was all unspoken. But it was definitely intentional.

These days, in the year 2000, a time when it seems like we should be enlightened to some degree, a white person can't drive down Woodland Avenue without getting yelled at, and a black person can't drive through Little Italy without fear of verbal or physical abuse.

This city is so segregated, and I HATE it. My wife and I live near Shaker Square, in the city of Cleveland proper. The neighborhood is pretty mixed here. It has its rough edges, but it feels natural-- like things are the way they should be. People walk, people talk to each other. So many places in the city are not like this.

Everybody's afraid. Rich people are afraid to live next to poor people, white people are afraid to live next to black people. The fearful move out to the suburbs. The fearful become agressive. It's bullshit. The best neighborhoods in the world are a mix of everything and everyone. If people would educate themselves, and graduate to the level of "human," rather than living their lives ruled by knee-jerk reactions, instincts, and stereotypes (as animals do), this world, this city, this place would be much more pleasing to inhabit.

I don't like feeling fear in anyone's neighborhood. I don't like having to be on the defensive. But I don't make it a habit of abandoning a place just because I'm afraid-- that's not a good enough reason.

Okay, so I'm driving down Lake Road, on my way to a meeting downtown... As I pull up to a red light to stop, I look over and see a little blonde girl (probably 10 years old), hanging out of her daddy's Chevy Suburban, listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd and playing the meanest air-guitar I have ever seen. She notices me looking at her, and immediately gives me the universal hand gesture for "rock-on." The light turns green, and as I pull away I hear her shout, "you go, boy!"

You can't make this stuff up. Life is rich.

A few thoughts on the nature of the world wide web, because that's what I've been thinking about this morning.

The web, it's so... self-referential. I mean, it seems that most of what people want to talk about on the web is the web. Sure, there are plenty of diverse interests expressed in the chat rooms and message boards of the world, but the people who seem to use the web the most (as evidenced by their frequent blog updates and rigorous web projects) seem to focus most of their efforts on web-related stuff. We need to remember... it's about people. It's about living. It's about the things that connect us, both physically and spiritually. The internet is useless without these events we call "real-life."

It really seems that in Cleveland (the city in which I currently reside), and perhaps the majority of the midwest, that people are afraid of progress, of good design, or anything that is too risky... More on this later.

It's all about selling the magic...

With fuel prices up, I try to keep my operations below 2,000 RPM.

When you think about architecture, you think about entry, passage, and place.

Place. Does anyone really understand what place is anymore?

Hi. Welcome to the inside of my head.

Gear Legacy

This is not the list of a materialist, but of a technophile, and a collector of new and old. The tools we use paint a picture of ourselves, and tell a story of the evolution of popular technology.

Video Game System - Best Christmas ever was getting the Atari 2600. Considering how much I love video games, it is notable that I missed the NES and PS1 eras. I waited until the PS2 was dirt cheap before I bought one, but boy has it been fun.

1979: Atari 2600
2006: Sony Playstation 2
2009: Sony Playststion 3 (CECHL01); Nintendo Wii
2010: Nintendo DSi
2012: Nintendo 3DS
2014: Nintendo WiiU
2015: Sony Playstation 4
2017: Nintendo Switch, Atari 7800 (vintage)
2018: Nintendo NES (vintage), Intellivision (vintage)

Watches - I lost my first decent watch back in 2001 (a simple Victorinox stainless steel analog with quartz movement)--left it on a bar in Baltimore. Just before this, I had started carrying a mobile phone full-time. After losing my watch, I saw no need to replace it, since I always had the correct time on my phone. In recent years, two features have evolved in watches that have added serious value and made me think that owning a watch actually makes sense again: atomic clock synchronization and solar power. With atomic clock sync, a watch supplements its already-accurate quartz movement with daily correction provided by atomic clocks around the world. So the watch never needs to be set, and is nearly always accurate to the second. Solar power means the watch never needs a battery replacement. Amazing. (Update: Since re-invigorating my interest in watches in 2010, I've evolved into a full-fledged enthusiast.)

1984: Casio Calculator Watch (had original model in 1984, lost; replaced in 2014 with CA-53W-1)
1988: Swatch GB122 "Coloured Love"
1989: Swatch GR104 "Bar Oriental"
1995: Victorinox Swiss Army Officer's
2010: Citizen Chrono-Time AT Eco-Drive BY0000-56L
2011: Seiko SKX781 Orange Monster
2014: Casio G-Shock GW9400-1 Rangeman; Casio A158W-1
2015: King Seiko Vanac 5626-7210 KS79 (1973)
2016: Alpina Alpiner Automatic AL-525S4E6; Sinn 556i Automatic
2017: Rado Centrix R30179105
2018: Slow Jo 17
2019: Glycine Airman SST12 GL0075; Bulova Lunar Pilot Chronograph; Certina DS C032.430.22.031.00

2020: Apple Watch Series 6 Nike Version (it's really a fitness tracker) 

Calculators

1992: Texas Instruments TI-81 Graphing (1990)
1997: Sharp EL-240 Solar (1983)
1998: Radio Shack EC-279 Solar (1997)
2000: Texas Instruments BA II Plus, Hewlett-Packard 12C (1984 version - own two of these)
2017: Texas Instruments TI-30 Scientific (1976)
2018: Texas Instruments TI-5040 Printing (1976)
2019: Burroughs Class 5 Adding Machine (1934 - serial number 5-617783)

Clocks

2014: Wesclox Big Ben Style 6, Gunmetal Body with Black Face (manufactured 1949-1956)
2017: Sony 7FC-89W (manufactured 1971)

Digital Camera (Compact) - Early on I fell in love with the Canon PowerShot 'Elph' type cameras, and their performance and consistently good critical reviews have kept me coming back. I've tried other point-and-shoot digitals over the years, particularly Sony models, and have always returned them for the latest Canon. In my opinion, nobody beats Canon for image quality in this product type.

2002: Canon PowerShot S200 (2.0 MP)
2005: Canon PowerShot SD300 (4.0 MP)
2008: Canon PowerShot SD870 IS (8.0 MP)
2011: Canon PowerShot S95 (10.0 MP images, 720p video)

SLR Camera - A black-and-white photography course and my first no-frills Nikon SLR sparked my original passion for photography. In 2007 I decided that digital SLR technology had finally evolved to a state where it was worth purchasing.

1992: Nikon FG (35mm) - I still use this occasionally, though film is becoming a rare commodity.
2007: Nikon D80 (10.2 MP)
2013: Nikon D7100 (24.1 MP)

Video Camera - I never saw the need for a video camera until we were expecting our first child...

2003: Sony DCR-TRV38 (480i Mini-DV)
2011: Canon Vixia HF M41 (1080i, 32GB built-in flash memory)

Mobile Phone - These things have come a long way from my first lame Verizon CDMA phone. The converged smartphone is one of my favorite pieces of gadgetry.

2001: Kyocera 2235, Verizon, CDMA Trimode
2003: Sony Ericsson T610, AT&T, 2.5G GSM/GPRS, HSCSD, Bluetooth
2005: My first smartphone - HTC Blue Angel (Siemens SX66), Cingular, GSM/GPRS, IrDA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
2006: HTC Wizard (Cingular 8125), quad-band GSM/GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
2008: HTC Kaiser (AT&T Tilt), GSM/GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
2009: iPhone 3G
2011: iPhone 4
2013: iPhone 5
2015: iPhone 6

2019: iPhone XS Max 

PDA - I was an early adopter of the PDA and actually used mine pretty effectively. My favorite was the Sony Clie, in my opinion one of the spiritual predecessors to the iPhone. Converged mobile phones have made this product category obsolete.

1998: Philips Nino 320
2001: Sony Clie T615C
2003: HP iPAQ 3970
2005: Converged with mobile phone - HTC Blue Angel

Digital Music Player

2002: iPod (2nd Generation)
2007: iPod (5th Generation)

2009: Converged with iPhone 3G 

Digital Book - For the longest time, I read e-books on my PDA or mobile phone. With the advent of electronic ink/digital paper, digital books started making a lot more sense. These new displays are large, extremely crisp (they reflect light like regular paper), and they consume very little power.

2009: Sony PRS-505/RC (unfortunately, I lost this one)
2010: Amazon Kindle 3rd Generation, 3G+WiFi
2014: Replaced by iPad Mini 2

Tablet Computer

2011: iPad2 - 32GB WiFi + 3G
2014: iPad Mini 2
2015: iPad Air

Laptop Computer

1997: Winboox XL Laptop, Win98, Pentium MMX, <1GB HDD
2002: VPR Matrix 180B5 P4 Laptop, WinXP, 512MB RAM, 30GB HDD, DVD/CDRW, WiFi
2008: Acer Aspire One AOA150-1570 Netbook, Intel Atom Processor N270 (1.60GHz), WinXP Windows 7, 120GB HDD, 1GB RAM, 3-cell battery, 0.3 MP Webcam, 802.11b/g WLAN, 8.9" LCD
2010: Acer E527-2537 Laptop, Intel Celeron 900 Processor, Windows 7, 15.6" LCD, 160GB HDD, 2GB RAM
2011: Toshiba Portege R835-P50XB, Intel Core i3 2310M (2.10GHz), Windows 7, 13.3" LCD, 4GB Memory DDR3 1333, 640GB HDD 5400rpm, DVD Super Multi, Intel HD Graphics, Wi-Max
2015: Dell New-XPS13 Touch 

2019: MacBook Air (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, Silver) 

Desktop Computer

1984: Commodore 64, 64K RAM, 5.25" FDD)
1988: Amiga 2000, 1024K RAM, 2x 3.5" FDD, 1x 5.25" FDD)
1994: Locally-built Pentium 90, Win3.1/95, first CD-ROM & HDD
2000: Locally-built Pentium III Win98/XP, 256MB RAM, +/-7GB HDD, DVD/CDRW
2007: AVA-Direct Desktop, Intel Core 2 Duo Intel Core 2 Quad AMD FX 8350, Windows Vista Windows 7 Windows 8 Windows 10, 2 4 8 16 24GB RAM, 2x500GB 2TB+1.5TB HDD, 64GB 128GB Boot SSD, Radeon X1950XT Radeon HD 4830 Radeon HD 7870, DVD+/-RW BD-RE/DVD+/-RW

Monitor

2007: (2) Sony SDM-S73 17" SXGA (1280x1024) 16 ms TN panel LCD
2010: (2) HP LP2465 24" WUXGA (1920x1200) 6 ms S-PVA panel LCD

Wireless Router

2002: Netgear 802.11b Wireless 4 Port Router
2005: Belkin Wireless Pre-N Router
2010: D-Link DIR-655 N Router

Printer
1994: Canon 

BJ 200
2000: HP 970 Cxi
2007: Canon PIXMA MP610
2012: Canon PIXMA MG6320

Car

1989: 1986 Chevy Camaro V-6
1996: 1992 Toyota Celica GT (DOHC inline-4, 5-speed manual)
2002: 2001 Volvo S40 (turbocharged 1.9L inline 4-cyl, ABS, traction control)
2005: 2005 Honda Accord EX (2.4L inline 4-cyl, ABS)
2010: 2006 Infiniti G35 Coupe (DOHC 24-valve V6, 6-speed manual transmission)

GPS

2008: Garmin Nuvi 250W

Television

1998: Sony KV-20S42 20" Trinitron CRT TV (480i, 4/3)
2006: Norcent LT-3222 32" LCD HDTV (720p, 16/9)
2010: Samsung LN40B500 40" LCD HDTV (1080p, 16/9)
2011: In February we cancelled cable and switched to internet-only and over-the-air HDTV. We use Netflix, Hulu, PlayOn, Vudu, and the Playstation Video Store to get content via the Playstation 3.
2017: LG 55UJ6300 55" LED LCD 4K

Video Player

1997: Sony Betamax VCR
1998: Sanyo Stereo VHS VCR
2001: Panasonic DVD-RV32K DVD Player
2006: Sony Playstation 2 replaced Panasonic for DVD playback
2007: Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 HD-DVR (120GB, 1080i)
2009: Sony Playstation 3 Blu-Ray player
2015: Sony Playstation 4 Blu-Ray player
2017: 1999 Sony SLV-679HF VHS VCR
2018: Citizen VCP-5MU (vintage, purchased and repaired; built-in mini-CRT)

Amplifier / Receiver 
2006: Onkyo TX-SR502 Receiver (75 W/Ch); audio input via TOSLINK optical cable (PS3) and RCA analog cable (DVR); HD-video input/output via component cable (DVR) and HDMI cable (PS3)
2017: 1976 Akai AM-2800 (80 W/Ch) Amplifier

2018: Marantz 2215 Receiver 

2020: Sony STRDH590 Receiver 

Radios and Tuners
2017: 1976 Akai AT-2200 Tuner
2018: 1968 Panasonic RE-7257 (FM-AM 2-Band 10-Transistor)

Turntable
2016: Audio-Technica AT-LP120-USB
2017: 1979 Luxman PD264

Cassette Deck
2016: Akai GX-M30 (1979)
2017: Yamaha K-600 (1984)

Reel-To-Reel Tape Deck
2017: Akai 1720W (1971? - purchased and repaired)

8-Track Tape Deck
2017: Pioneer Craig 3302 8-Track (1971)

Compact Disc Player
2016: Sony CDP-CE275 (2001)

Equalizer
2016: AudioSource EQ Eight/Series II (1999)
2017: Technics SH-8046 (1986)

Speakers
1993: JVC SP-MX55BK (50W 2-way bookshelf, 1 - 5.5" woofer, 1 tweeter)
2010: Polk Audio Monitor 40 (125W 2-way bookshelf, 2 - 5-1/4" woofers, 1 - 1" tweeter) + Sony SAW2500 Subwoofer (100W, 10" woofer)
2017: Yamaha NS-6490 (3-way bookshelf, 8" woofer, 4" midrange, 7/8" tweeter)
2020: Cerwin Vega DX-7

Universal Remote
2007: One For All URC-8910 (8-Device, Learning, Macro, LCD)
2010: SMK-Link PS3 Blu-Link Universal Remote Control  (6-Device, Bluetooth, Learning)
2015: Sony Playstation 4 Universal Remote

Piano
2015: Yamaha U1 (upright)

Digital Keyboard - When our son showed interest in taking piano lessons in preschool, we had a choice: Commit the space (and money) required to purchase a real piano, or buy an excellent full-size digital piano.
2007: Yamaha YPG-625

Espresso Machine - Our house is passionate about coffee, so in 2006 we invested in a 'prosumer' espresso machine.
2006: Quickmill Anita (heat exchanger, E-61 commercial group head, 52 watt vibratory pump, 1,400 watt heating element, 1.6L boiler) - pump replaced 2018

Just for fun, I keep track of the books I have read, lest I forget them (starting June 2002). Most books (printed and electronic) are borrowed from the library. I love the library...don't buy books before you read them! If a book is intellectually valuable enough to me, I'll (usually) purchase it for my personal library (PL).

The symbol "(e)" means that I read the book electronically (on a Sony PRS-505 Reader). The symbol "(r)" means the work is a re-read for me. The symbol "(a)" means I'm "reading" the book in audio format (unabridged versions only, thank-you), most likely borrowed on CD from the library and ripped to my iPod. (8.6/12)

Currently:

Catch-22 (e), Joseph Heller, 11/19/09-
Dune Messiah (r), Frank Herbert, 1/27/10- (PL)

Finished:

Dune (r), Frank Herbert, 3/17/09-1/27/10 (PL)
The Grapes of Wrath (e), John Steinbeck, 10/5/09-11/18/09
Slaughterhouse Five (e), Kurt Vonnegut, 9/22/09-10/5/09
  --- Esmé Starts Preschool 9/14/09 ---
Breakfast of Champions (e), Kurt Vonnegut, 8/5/09-9/21/09; PL
The Brothers Karamazov , Fyodor Dostoevsky, 2/12/09-9/1/09; PL
Mostly Harmless (r), Douglas Adams, 1/11/09-3/16/09; PL
The Stranger , Albert Camus, 1/21/09-2/11/09; PL
The Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut, 12/22/08-1/20/09
So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish (r), Douglas Adams, 11/24/08-1/11/09; PL
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater , Kurt Vonnegut, 12/8/08-12/22/08; PL
Catcher in the Rye (r), J.D. Salinger, 11/3/08-12/4/08; PL
Life, The Universe and Everything (r), Douglas Adams, 10/25/08-11/23/08; PL
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (r), Douglas Adams, 9/4/08-10/24/08; PL
  --- Japan-Korea Trip 10/1/08-10/17/08 ---
The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (r), Douglas Adams, 7/30/08-9/3/08; PL
  --- Max Starts Kindergarten 8/28/08 (Jason Starts Teaching at KSU) ---
For Esmé - with Love and Squalor (r), J. D. Salinger; 7/29/08; PL
The Art of War, Sun Tzu; 7/25/08-7/29/08
Bonfire of the Vanities , Tom Wolfe; 6/20/08-7/24/08
Mr. Palomar, Italo Calvino (translated by William Weaver); 5/28/08-6/19/08; PL
Constantine's Sword, James Carroll; 10/5/07-5/27/08
The Varieties of Scientific Experience, Carl Sagan, edited by Ann Druyan; 1/22/08-2/21/08
Parenting Beyond Belief, edited by Dale McGowan; 12/10/07-1/21/08; PL
The Sun Also Rises , Ernest Hemingway; 9/28/07-10/4/07; PL
Neuromancer (r), William Gibson; 9/10/07-9/27/07; PL
Siddhartha (r), Herman Hesse; 9/3/07-9/7/07; PL
Spook Country , William Gibson; 8/8/07-8/31/07; PL
Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card; 7/21/07-8/7/07
A World Lit Only by Fire , William Manchester; 6/27/07-7/20/07; PL
The God Delusion , Richard Dawkins; 5/30/07-6/26/07; PL
The New History of the World, J. M. Roberts; 7/1/06-1/2/07; PL
  --- Max Starts Preschool 9/5/06 ---
A Random Walk Down Wall Street , Burton G. Malkiel; 2/27/06-7/14/06; PL
  --- Esmé Born 6/21/06 ---
Flow , Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi; 3/15/06-5/2/06; PL
The Hero With A Thousand Faces , Joseph Campbell; 5/31/05-2/24/06; PL
Getting Things Done, David Allen; 12/1/05-1/1/06; PL
The Intelligent Investor (1949 Edition), Benjamin Graham; 12/1/05-1/1/06; PL
Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom, Van Tharp; 10/24/05-11/11/05
The New Psycho-Cybernetics, Maxwell Maltz, updated by Dan S. Kennedy; 3/26/05-5/25/05
A Man In Full , Tom Wolfe; 3/11/05-4/17/05; PL
  --- Italy Trip 3/7/05-3/17/05 (Jason & Rose 5-Year Anniversary 2/18/05)---
  --- Jason Starts at Mid-America 1/1/05 ---
The Power of Myth , Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers; 11/3/04-12/27/04
Tao Te Ching , Lao Tzu (Translation by Jonathan Star); 12/9/04-12/15/04; PL
S, M, L, XL, Rem Koolhaas & Bruce Mau; 12/26/03-indefinite; PL
The Not So Big House, Sarah Susanka; 11/30/03-indefinite; PL
The Greatest Salesman In The World, Og Mandino; 10/22/04-10/27/04
As A Man Thinketh, James Allen; 10/21/04-10/21/04
The Richest Man in Babylon , George S. Clayson; 10/4/04-10/8/04
The Millionaire Next Door , Thomas Stanley & William Danko; 9/23/04-9/27/04; PL
Rich Dad, Poor Dad (e), Robert Kiyosaki; 9/20/04-9/23/04
Doctor Zhivago (a), Boris Pasternak; 10/17/03-8/13/04, PL
Invisible Cities (r), Italo Calvino; 3/29/04-4/1/04; PL
Pattern Recognition , William Gibson; 3/1/04-3/29/04; PL
The Web of Life, Fritjof Capra; 9/14/03-2/3/04; PL
  --- Bought House 10/29/03 ---
Tom Sawyer (e), Mark Twain; 10/9/02-11/5/03; PL
The Tipping Point (a), Malcolm Gladwell; 9/24/03-10/12/03
God's Debris (e), Scott Adams; 9/4/03-9/23/03; PL (ebook)
  --- Max Born 6/25/03 ---
Cradle to Cradle, William McDonough & Michael Braungart; 5/3/03-6/9/03; PL
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (e), Steven Covey; 12/15/02-4/1/03; PL (ebook)
  --- Jason Starts at Forest City Enterprises 1/1/03 ---
David Copperfield (e), Charles Dickens; 10/27/02-5/3/03
Flatland (e), Edwin A. Abbott; 9/1/02-10/24/02; PL (ebook)
The Hidden Dimension, Edward T. Hall; 8/30/02-10/10/02; PL
The Third Wave , Alvin Toffler; 7/1/02-9/27/02; PL
On The Road (r), Jack Kerouac; 7/15/02-8/28/02; PL
Megatrends, John Naisbitt; 6/14/02-6/28/02, PL
A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway; PL
For Shame, James B. Twitchell; PL
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (e, r), Lewis Carroll, PL
  --- Jason Graduates from Cornell May-02 ---

Prior to June 2002...

I can't remember all those books!

Jump to: Hardware, Software, Websites

Mobile Computing Page: HTC Kaiser / AT&T Tilt

I have decided to devote this little section of my website to mobile technology because of the importance I place on "extensions" of the human persona. Just as the home, moving beyond its role as shelter, is an extension of the body and soul, and the automobile is an extension of our mobility, the computer (or the sketchbook, or the blank canvas, etc.) is an extension of the mind. The telephone is an extension of our ability to communicate. The hand-held computer and the mobile phone, because of their small form and portability, are extraordinarily appropriate human-scaled manifestations of these two "extensions". (Here are some more thoughts on mobile devices as human extensions.)

Before getting into how I use my mobile device, it's important to step back and look at the big picture for a moment: I've found that PDAs, mobile phones and other organizational tools don't substantively help you accomplish long-term goals. These tools are better for short-term organization and tasks. No system/device/etc. can make you stop putting things off and get to the substance of any matter. No device will help you do the "important, but not urgent" things, if you don't have the desire within you to do those things already. In fact, these "organizational tools" can actually impede a person's effectiveness, by encouraging a focus on putting out fires or conveying a sense of urgency, rather than concentrating on the quieter, step by step approach to accomplishing great things.

Mobile Device Hot Fighting History:

PDA --- Mobile Phone
Philips Nino 320 (12/98-3/01) --- No Mobile Phone
Sony Clie T615C (3/01-1/03) --- Kyocera 2235, Verizon (2001)
HP iPAQ 3970 (1/03-1/05) --- Sony Ericsson T610, AT&T (2003)

Converged: HTC Blue Angel (Siemens SX66), Cingular (1/05-5/06)
HTC Wizard (Cingular 8125) (5/06-1/08)
HTC Kaiser (AT&T Tilt) (1/08-current)

Pictured above is my current mobile device, an HTC Kaiser / AT&T Tilt. As is currently typical in the smartphone product category, HTC of Taiwan manufactures a few flavors of the device and then it is rebranded for various cellular carriers around the world. AT&T's version of the Kaiser is notably missing the front face camera used for video calling.

I've been using a PDA to keep track of my life since 1998--even before I started using a mobile phone. It is interesting to think about just how badly I wanted a 'converged' device back when I was using my Sony Clie in 2001-2002. I couldn't wait to have an excellent PDA with phone functionality. After a few weak starts (the early PPC phones and Treos were not that impressive), the industry has finally started getting it right. The HTC Wizard was the first smartphone I've owned that *just did what it's supposed to*, without a lot of hacking and tweaking. The HTC Blue Angel was almost there, but it had too many bugs to be a truly excellent device (bad bluetooth, no keylock, slow internet, etc.). The Kaiser improves on the Wizard significantly: 3G data speeds, *phenomenal* signal reception (I can make calls from elevator shafts and underground levels of buildings), world-phone (works in U.S., Europe, Japan, etc.), a tilt-screen for viewing the device when resting on a table, the highest-quality build from HTC yet and, holy $#@%!...GPS built-in! Oh, and my beloved scoll-wheel is back--something I haven't had since my Sony 615. Frankly, I can't think of anything to add to this phone; in my book it's an iPhone killer.

HTC Kaiser...the good: Excellent phone signal reception & voice quality, good ergonomics (large slide-out keyboard, tilt screen, jog-dial, plenty of programmable hard-buttons), solid hardware build, feature-rich, multitude of connectivity options (plus it's a world phone), fast internet, GPS works well in both pedestrian & auto contexts, fast processor, ample memory

HTC Kaiser...the bad: Screen is not trans-reflective (visibility in sunlight is not as good as it should be); battery life could be better (I get no more than 12-14 hours between charges); why doesn't it have a dedicated headphone jack?

***

I use this device to organize my life, keep track of nearly everything, browse the internet, check email, read ebooks and other documents, write, edit spreadsheets, read the news, keep reference materials handy, view photographs and video clips, play games, play music, audiobooks, podcasts and more. Usage breakdown:

Phone: 15%
Email: 25%
Web: 20%
PIM: 15%
Multimedia (video, audio, photo): 12%
Reading Ebooks: 8%
Word processing, spreadsheeting: 5%

On this page I describe some of the applications, system extensions, configurations and hardware that I find useful, with the hope that this information can be of some help to others. I love to optimize (i.e., tweak) the tools I use heavily in my life. So I figure that as long as I've put that effort into it, I might as well share my experiences.

***

Hardware

HTC Kaiser (TTyN II) / AT&T Tilt - See description above. I remapped the Push-to-Talk button to run AE Button Plus, a wonderful, light-touch task switching hack that works very well with the side scroll-wheel and OK button. (Also see this thread if you like the older version of the voice recorder, like I do.) Other than that, no button remapping--this is a very well designed device. My only complaints are that I wish the battery life was better, and the screen is not reflective enough in bright sunlight.

Motorola H700 Bluetooth Headset (link) - See picture above. A later evolution of the original HS 810 I used with my Sony Ericsson T610. Still does the job better than any headset out there, in my opinion.

1 GB Micro SD Card - They just keep getting smaller, and smaller, and smaller, and cheaper...

Brando Screen Protector (link) - This is the best screen protector ever made. It's a thick, sturdy, non-disposable screen protector that reduces glare and has a nice, semi-rough writing surface. I've been using the same screen protector (literally the same physical piece of plastic) for over three four years now. I just pull it from my old phone and apply it to my new phone. That's how durable the Brandos are.

***

Software

These are the programs that make my device work well for me:

KaiserTweak (link) - A must-install for this phone. Allows you to enable HSDPA (3.5G) data speeds on the Tilt (significantly faster than 3G), as well as turn off 'sleep' mode when you're on a phone call. Many other settings as well.

AE Button Plus (link) - See comments above. A wonderful, light-touch pop-up task switching hack that works very well with the side scroll-wheel and OK button on the Tilt. Also includes battery life, 'uptime', and memory usage stats. Free version is slightly crippled, but not in any way that affects how I use it.

S2U2 (link) - A brilliant little program that mimics the iPhone's 'slide to unlock' feature. This is especially useful on the Kaiser because of the fact the the screen is not transreflective, and using the built-in WM6 unlock feature can be difficult in bright sunlight. Highly customizable.

HTC Home Plugin (link) - HTC-designed plug-in for the Today screen. Has tabs for time/alarms, favorite people, weather, launcher, ringer settings, and media player. A nice, free addition to the Tilt's today screen.

VistaHide Battery Guage (link) - A simple color-coded battery guage that remains visible at all times at the top of your screen.

Google Maps Mobile (link) - Google Maps for Windows Mobile; finds your position both by GPS and triangulation; better interface than Windows Live.

Windows Live Search Mobile (link) - A robust mapping and business/people search app. Works well with the built-in GPS. Clunkier that Google Maps Mobile, but still good.

Opera Mini (link) - Ultra-fast mobile browser with good page rendering. Free. To make launching Opera Mini easier, follow the instructions in this thread to install the "StartOperaMini" script. See this thread to make Opera Mini stop asking for permission to access the internet.

Skyfire (link) - Although I prefer Opera Mini for its speed, the Skyfire browser is unmatched in features, including flash video and sound support.

Google Reader Mobile - This is a web driven newsreader that formats RSS feeds for mobile browsing.

FlexWallet (link) - Secure digital wallet. Keep all your personal information *securely* in one place. Syncs with a desktop computer interface. I used "SplashID" on the PalmOS.

Wei's SoftReset (link) - A very small-footprint soft reset utility, so you can avoid pulling out the stylus when you need to soft-reset the device.

Pocket 12C (link) - Everyone's favorite Reverse Polish Notation financial calculator. I use this one a lot--love the horizontal format!

Total Commander (link) - An oldie but a goodie, and a must on any Windows Mobile device. Much, much better than the built-in file explorer. Also has a registry editor.

µBook (link) - Pronounced "MICRO-book". I use this program for my free Project Gutenberg downloads. Works with HTML, TXT, RTF, PDB and PRC ebook files. Image support. Very intelligent and light-touch program. Auto-creates a table of contents and re-paginates based on font size/style. In my opinion, this is the best e-book reader out there. I use the 'Vanilla' skin for a clean, clear reading interface. Unfortunately, it is no longer free, although if you're willing to put up with an intermittent nag screen you don't need to purchase a license.

GSPlayer (link) - A small-footprint media player than can, among other things, be used to stream free ShoutCast internet radio stations over your phone (make sure you have an unlimited data plan)!

Veveo Vtap (link) - Search and view YouTube and other streaming videos on your mobile device.

***

Useful Websites

XDA-Developers.com - Dedicated entirely to HTC phones. Answers to most HTC questions can be found here.

Tilt Site - All about the AT&T tilt. Get started with Ten Tips for your AT&T Tilt.

Howard Forums - The grand-daddy of all mobile phone forum sites.

Pocket PC Thoughts - A good PPC news site.

Keen PDA - David Keener has put together a concise and excellent site that discusses effective time-management using PDAs. His comments were very useful to me--I encourage you to read the whole thing.

The Brando Workshop, Hong Kong - Their screen protectors are the best, and they offer a number of other great accessories for several PDA models.

***

Links to old mobile computing pages at JCarroll.net: HTC Wizard, HTC Blue Angel, HP iPaq 3970, Sony Clie T615C, Philips Nino 320.

Feel free to email me with corrections, or to let me know that I'm full of hot air...

Best Of ...

These are the little bits that are probably a tad more interesting than the rest. Whose definition of interesting? Well, mine—so you may not find them interesting at all. But some of these excerpts may actually rise above day-to-day trivia and approach something called "writing" and/or "thinking". For your convenience and time-efficient browsing, I have gone through the effort of listing them chronologically, descending from newest to oldest:

End of warm days.
Friday, October 19, 2007

If you don’t play the lottery, you are going to hell.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Max's Abstract Color Photos
Thursday, August 30, 2007

Esmé Walks!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Patterns & Dissapointment
Thursday, July 19, 2007

Esmé Turns One (and Max Turns Four)
Thursday, June 28, 2007

The Alphabet Hundred: Image, Description.
Saturday, April 28 & 25, 2007

Good Equals Zero Pieces of Naughty
Saturday, March 24, 2007

Marbles & Other Things Round
Monday, February 05, 2007

Time-affluent or money-affluent?
Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Microplaces
Wednesday, November 01, 2006

The Dragon-Riding Boy
Tuesday, September 19, 2006

My Stronger Guilt Defeats My Strong Intent
Friday, August 11, 2006

What's Easier When You're Young?
Saturday, August 05, 2006

Esmé Rose
Thursday, June 22, 2006

Fully in the Moment
Friday, June 02, 2006

Flow
Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Pushing Books
Sunday, April 16, 2006

Truth And/Or Consquences
Friday, February 17, 2006

Life-Altering Experiences
Friday, January 06, 2006

Brave Boy
Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Max is Two!
Monday, June 27, 2005

Robert Woodyard: August 31, 1928-May 18, 2005
Friday, June 10, 2005

The Value of a Moment
Friday, April 29, 2005

Life and Warcraft
Wednesday, March 02, 2005

The Mud
Thursday, February 17, 2005

The Last One Percent
Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Hard Work, No Work, Smart Work
Sunday, September 19, 2004

Max is One!
Friday, June 25, 2004

We Are Helped by What Is Not
Wednesday, April 28, 2004

Equilibrium
Monday, December 29, 2003

Commuting History
Monday, November 03, 2003

Sketch
Wednesday, October 22, 2003

So Much for Networking
Tuesday, September 16, 2003

People Like Myself
Sunday, August 31, 2003

MAX!
Monday, June 30, 2003

Connection By Choice Vs. Connection By Propinquity Thursday, March 27, 2003

Aggression, Baby Boomers, and SUVs Monday, October 21, 2002

Forget It, Jake Wednesday, October 9, 2002

Undying Patriotism Thursday, September 5, 2002

Scale Problems Thursday, August 22, 2002

David Lynch Moments Wednesday, July 17, 2002

Our Weird Neighbor Update Tuesday, June 18, 2002

Limbo Monday, June 3, 2002

The End - Cornell Real Estate Thesis Project Tuesday, May 14, 2002

One of The Funniest Photographs Ever Wednesday, April 24, 2002

From Invisible Cities Sunday, March 17, 2002

Housing Affordability Saturday, February 16, 2002

A Fair Share of World Resources Friday, February 08, 2002

Amerika Sunday, January 27, 2002

Biases Monday, October 15, 2001

The Right Place at The Right Time Monday, August 27, 2001

My Childhood Stomping Grounds Thursday, August 23, 2001

Here Is The Correct Answer Monday, July 09, 2001

Prepare Yourself for Run-On Sentences Monday, July 02, 2001

The Suburbs Friday, June 29, 2001

One Year of Graduate School Tuesday, June 26, 2001

A Bit More on The Point of Nostalgia Wednesday, June 20, 2001

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Sunday, January 28, 2001

Thinking about Cars Saturday, January 13, 2001

Our Weird Neighbor Friday, January 5, 2001

Home for the Holidaze Thursday, January 4, 2001

Salvation Army Strategies Thursday, December 21, 2000

The Truth about Crossword Puzzles Wednesday, December 20, 2000

On Being a Generalist Tuesday, November 21, 2000

On Becoming an Architect Monday, November 06, 2000

Architecture Is A Way of Seeing The World Sunday, October 15, 2000

Secrets of Brewing Coffee Using A Drip-Type Coffee Maker Sunday, October 08, 2000

Plink Plink Thursday, August 31, 2000

The Leader Friday, August 04, 2000

A Coffee Filter When You're Desperate Thursday, August 03, 2000

The Center of The Universe for One Shining Evening Monday, July 31, 2000

The Man Shower Wednesday, July 26, 2000

Sketch of Piazza S. Firenze Monday, July 24, 2000

The Presence of The Dead in Chloride Saturday, July 22, 2000

In The Margins Thursday, July 06, 2000

Fear Surrounds And Traps You Thursday, June 29, 2000

You Go, Boy! Wednesday, June 28, 2000