Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Friday, December 02, 2011
The anachronistic Walkman?
Posted by
For Peter's Sake
at
12:44 PM
1 comments
Labels: Commentary, Media and Entertainment, Peter's Film Screening, Society and Culture
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Movie recommendation
Posted by
For Peter's Sake
at
3:12 PM
1 comments
Labels: Media and Entertainment
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
The ugly side of Nissan
The moral of the story? Style elements for cars should not be taken from amphibians, canceled space program vehicles, 1980's sci-fi movies, or anything made by Pontiac. Ever.
Posted by
For Peter's Sake
at
8:50 AM
2
comments
Labels: cars, Commentary, Humor
Sunday, September 25, 2011
A sad day
Posted by
For Peter's Sake
at
10:19 PM
2
comments
Monday, September 12, 2011
My daughter's vote of confidence
Daughter: Mom, how can I be a rock star when I grow up?
Wife: It takes a lot of work and practice.
Daughter: Could I be a rock climber?
Wife: Sure... Why don't you want to be a rock star anymore?
Daughter: Because it takes a lot of work.
Wife: Anything you want to be will take a lot of work. Even being a mom is hard work.
Daughter: What about being a dad?
Posted by
For Peter's Sake
at
7:47 PM
1 comments
Thursday, August 25, 2011
In which I lose my wife's phone (and get it back)
It was sort of a proud moment when I walked back in the house and announced that they had the phone. Everyone cheered, and the final shadow lifted from our cheerful weekend. The next day we drove home and stopped by the Wendy's to get the phone — and a celebratory Frosty. Becca has since reactivated the phone and was able to confirm that no information on it was accessed. So pretty much a happy ending.
Lessons learned from the whole ordeal:
- Keep track of your valuables, and don't trust your unreliable husband to watch things for you.
- If you have any valuable information on it, put a password on your phone. Today.
- There are always a few bad apples, but most folks are good people and will help you out.
- If you do something stupid like losing a phone, make sure you do damage control immediately (deactivate, change passwords, etc.).
1 In fairness, forgetting the phone was something of a team effort. We both saw it on the table and both thought the other one would get it. But I really don't know what I was thinking when I put it in a different place than where Becca set it down.
2 I actually got the idea from a family member who used psychology and tech-fu to get her stolen phone back. I don't know if it worked, but it can't have hurt.
3 In a great bit of low-tech but clever hackery, my mom actually guessed the wi-fi password and let us get the restaurant contact information. That was actually really important early on.
Photo credit: JaredEarle.
Posted by
For Peter's Sake
at
11:37 AM
2
comments
Labels: My Life, technology
Friday, August 19, 2011
Internet authority
The other day my daughter had a bad diaper rash, and we decided to look it up online to see if we should take her to the doctor. We actually have child health reference books, but the entry wasn't particularly helpful ("consult a doctor") so we wanted more information. It occurred to me that our automatic reaction to look something up online is a quintessentially 21st Century response, and it got me thinking about sources of authority online. I made a quick mental list of the sources I trust on the internet, and I thought I'd write them down and see if anyone had other or better sources.
- General Knowledge: Wikipedia. This choice can be a bit controversial, since Wikipedia is inherently vulnerable to manipulation. But if you follow the hyperlinked footnotes, you'll find that Wikipedia is a phenomenal source of information. As a long-time user and editor, I have gotten used to reading articles with a critical eye, and if it's not well-cited, I don't always rely on it. But most Wikipedia articles nowadays are pretty well referenced. Hot-button or controversial topics are always suspect, but even those articles can be useful to point you to other sources.
- Movies: IMDb. The Internet Movie Database, or IMDb, is the authority on movies and television shows. . Seriously, it's one of the best things ever conceived by the interwebs.
- Books: LibraryThing. There doesn't seem to be any single, definitive book website like there is for movies. But I often consult LibraryThing for reviews and information. It isn't my only book destination, however, as I also go to Goodreads and occasionally Shelfari. Both LibraryThing and Shelfari are partly owned by Amazon, which is actually an excellent source of information about books, due to its very strong recommendation engine and extensive user reviews. In fact, the only reason I don't use is more is my vague notion that the fact that Amazon is trying to sell me stuff somehow colors the content.
- Health: WebMD. There are some other good sources, but I habitually go to WebMD for health-related information, like my daughter's diaper rash, or how high a fever can be before you take a child to a doctor. Other good sources include the websites of the National Institutes of Health and various respected hospitals, like the Mayo Clinic or the Cleveland Clinic.
- Deals: SlickDeals. I like getting stuff for cheap, and though I check multiple sites, the best and most comprehensive site in my opinion is SlickDeals. Other people have different favorites, and if you're especially interested in a certain type of product, SlickDeals might not be the best for you. But with a huge user base and extensive forums, it has a lot to offer. If I want to buy a new computer or TV or want a coupon code, SlickDeals is my first stop.
- Legal: Legal Information Institute. I know most people don't read legal stuff if they can avoid it, but the LLI is a fantastic collection of legal primary sources. It's got a good pedigree, too, since it's run by Cornell University's Law School. I use it almost daily, even though I have a subscription to WestLaw, because the LLI is easier to use for some things. And it's free. Honorable mention goes to FindLaw and Justia, and I also use Google Scholar's legal search tools.
- Consumer Reviews: Amazon. As the world's largest online retailer, Amazon has consumer reviews for almost anything. The reviews are often more than just opinions—they often contain information about how to set the product up or how to tinker with it to use it for something else. Amazon wins with high quality and sheer volume. For tech devices, I also really like CNET's video reviews, and the decidedly gearhead reviews on NewEgg are also invaluable.
- Cars: Edmunds. I am definitely not a car expert, but Edmunds seems to be the best site for reviews, resale values, repair advice, etc. Given my lack of expertise, however, I'm open to other suggestions.
- News: National Public Radio. This is a tough choice, and I've gone back and forth on my preferred news source. The truth is that I never rely on one source for news, but if I had to pick one, it would be NPR. I listen to it in the car a lot, but in recent years the NPR website has become very good. I still ready the New York Times site frequently, as well as the BBC and my local newspaper websites. But I go to NPR first and most frequently.
- Everything Else: Google.There is an awful lot of information not grouped into one of those categories above, and the easiest way to find it is just to Google it. I actually like using some other search engines, and I don't like using one dominant search engine, but I must admit that Google still is the best at finding what you need. And there is some extremely valuable tips and information buried in the thousands of bulletin boards, blogs, and other sites that make up the rest of the web.
Posted by
For Peter's Sake
at
10:12 AM
0
comments
Labels: Interesting, opinion, technology, Things I Love
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The taste of summer
Posted by
For Peter's Sake
at
8:06 AM
0
comments
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Borders, books, and bookstores
- First, as sad as it is to see a big chain (and 11,000 jobs) go down, the silver lining is that it might pave the way for smaller local bookstores to find a foothold.
- I like going to bookstores. I like browsing, I like leafing through books and picking up ones that have attractive covers or authors I recognize. But I almost never buy new books because I perceive them to be too expensive. I can't be the only one.
- I don't rely on bookstores for recommended reading. I rely on friends and family. If that doesn't work, I rely on book blogs or sites like Goodreads. If that doesn't work, the recommendation systems of Amazon and other online vendors are very good. And if that doesn't work, I'm still probably more likely to consult a librarian than a bookstore.
- One thing that stood out to me in the NPR article (which you really should read or listen to, by the way) is the quote from the guy who analyzes Barnes & Noble. He said he was agnostic to supplier and device agnostic. He just wants to read, and he doesn't care much about whether it comes from Borders or Walmart or Amazon. He also doesn't care much if he's reading it on a Nook or Kindle or in paper. That's how I feel. I like a real book better, but there are some significant advantages to ebooks. Bottom line is that I just want to read stuff, whatever the easiest or cheapest way is to do that.
- Speaking of ebooks, they apparently are the future. Certainly not the exclusive future, because paper books are just nice and people still like them. But now that Amazon is selling more ebooks than printed books, the writing is on the wall. And apparently that's how Barnes & Noble escaped the same fate as Borders--they went online and made their own e-reader.
Posted by
For Peter's Sake
at
9:31 PM
6
comments
Labels: books, Borders, Commentary, Current Events, reading



























