Avatars

Here's a good generator if you're looking for facial avatars:
http://www.funnypics.cc/media/create_your_avatar.php

New Wedding Blog

I just added another blog to provide online RSVP services and announcements regarding our wedding. I hope to get some links and pictures of the wedding site where folks can check them out. It'd be nice if our guests would feel comfortable enough to leave comments to let us know how they're doing too. Man this is a lotta work. And to think I've only done about 5% of what Hyunjoo has been doing! She's the real superstar here. Thanks HJ!

Battery FAQ

The battery has become our steady travel companion - it helps call a friend; it expands our workplace beyond four walls; and it supports critical missions for people in need.

Performance specifications for batteries and chargers are often based on ideal conditions.

Manufacturers carry out battery tests on brand new equipment within protected environments. In Batteries in a Portable World, Mr. Buchmann observes the battery as used by consumers in everyday life.

(continues)

Commercial links from Panasonic, but still offers considerable and easy to digest information for "The Everyday Joe." It covers both NiCd's and the NiMH types.

Great places to buy batteries:
Battery Space
Only Battery Packs
Green Batteries

From pachinko to PS1

Click to view Slideshow

One of my students put together this homemade "portable" monitor for his PS1. He said it only took him a couple of days to make. Finding a working pachinko screen was the hard part!

New Mac's

I have to say that as jazzed as I am about the new Intel Mac's, I'm not psyched about having to get all new "Universal" software. I'm confident that all the major software manufactures will be quick to offer new versions. Heck some Windows app designers might figure out an easy way to port PC apps to the Mac (not that we need their software)... I'm still not happy about a new upgrade.

In the end, it's for the best and ultimately it was necessary. I just wonder how slow apps will be running on Rosetta.

New Palm TX

I went to the Post Office yesterday to pick up a package from the States. Like everything else, running the simplest of errands can be a chore. Thankfully it went smoothly. I had heard once that the post office in Imunozu-something-or-other was the local holding area for any packages. I was so anxious to get the TX I drove over there yesterday morning. Thankfully the lines weren't long and I was able to get the package alright. I had to consciously make the effort to not get my hopes up.

Everything worked out and the TX fired up with out a hitch. I had troubles syncing at first. I had an old profile with Palm Desktop for my Clié that I didn't want to install since this an entirely different platform.

My first big project was moving everything from Entourage to Palm Desktop. I was getting problems with my contacts and decided that a change was best. I had to manually scrub the databases, but it was worth it and my address book is in the best condition it's ever been.

More PSP Encoding projects

I've been working on getting PAL DVD's onto my PSP and I finally figured out how to do it using FFmpegX!

I learned that PSPWare doesn't like VOB's with multiple audio tracks. Unfortunately Mac the Ripper doesn't let you select which audio tracks to include in the rip. 0SEx 0.0110a1 does and so I used that app to make a VOB of "Black Hawk Down" and it seems that I was successful. I'll still have to try out the file on the PSP when it's done encoding, but it's looking good!

I still need to get a title with subtitles to encode properly. I don't think I've done that yet.

New WiFi lifestyle

My first big revolution was broadband two years ago when I moved to Japan. It opened the door for VoIP international calling, Bittorrent downloads, large file swapping, blogging, podcasting, and a huge spike in my surfing habits.

Enter WiFi... in the past couple of days I've unleashed my laptop - mostly for kicks. But, it also lets me close the door to my study which means one less area to heat depending on what I'm doing in the apartment.


The real benefit is using my PSP to surf in bed. The screen is large enough that I can view a decent portion of web pages while browsing. I can check blogs, news, email and my favorite websites as though I were reading a book before sleeping! This thing has changed my lifestyle! Unfortunately, the PSP doesn't have a lot of onboard memory for high speed browsing, but that isn't much of a problem. I can't wait to try out an online game using the PSP in infrastructure mode!

Flickr limit!

Oh no! I just realized that flickr only let's you keep your most recent 200 photos in your viewable archive for free. It seems that my older ones are still there, but can only be viewed if they are linked elsewhere - like in my blog. I'd better start linking my favorites ASAP!

Wireless!

I just installed a brand new wireless router and am currently running my PowerBook G4 and my PSP untethered. We'll need to buy a WiFi card for Hyun-joo if she wants to enjoy the freedom as well.

I was a little concerned about the speed, but it hasn't been a noticeable problem yet. The range is excellent through out our small apartment. I'd be pretty disappointed if there were problems.

Once I get my Palm TX, I'll have two WiFi devices! Very cool.

Missing my PDA

I'm traveling around in Korea now and it's got me thinking about all the digital accessories I tote. Ever since my Clie died a few weeks ago, I've been trying to live more simply... with out a PDA. I bring around my PSP, my iPod, my IXY 400, and my Vodafone handset so that I can have:

1. a portable game console
2. a PVP
3. a mass storage device
4. a portable PDF viewer
5. an MP3 player
6. a digital wallet
7. a 4MP digital camera
8. a crude planner
9. a crude to-do list
10. a cell phone

But I miss having

1. an E-book reader
2. a real planner
3. a real to-do list
4. all my addresses
5. a portable document reader
6. a digital notepad

With the new Palm TX Hyun-joo bought me for Christmas I'll also have

1. WiFi
2. Bluetooth

Photo Mosaic Software

Click to view website
Hyun-joo came up with a great idea to incorporate a mosaic into our wedding invitation. I didn't do a lot of checking around, but this software seems pretty decent.

The plan is to use poraits of everyone we'd like to attend the wedding to create a mosaic of something... we don't know what that'll be yet. Think of it as a surprise.

Recording for the podcast

I know, I know. I just gotta get the thing finished and published. I've got a lot to do in the next few days before vacation... stuff for classes... stuff for korea... x-mas stuff... and ofcourse the podcast. I've been wasting my time trying to figure out how I'm going to conduct field recordings, like interviews. My damn R-1 keeps giving me the "Low Battery" warning and dies during recording, even when I have new batteries in the thing! I'm using the factory supplied memory card and I don't want to go out to by yet another card just to find out that my R-1 doesn't work. What a pain in the ass. I paid over $300 for the R-1 and it's been unreliable at best! Don't buy one. The unit is made of flimsy plastic and the control knob pops off entirely. Don't buy one!

Damn I hate Education

Maybe more accurately, I hate the administrative end of Education. I'm trying to teach a CALL course here at KTC using Macromedia Flash in my Fifth Year Computers and English class. This past year I've been trying to teach them how to use Flash in different langauges. The students are all using Japanese versions of Flash MX and I'm using the English version of MX 2004. I end up having to teach the Ss on an individual basis, because I can't even make handouts for them since the screen captures look entirely different than their own screens. This sucks!

Worse yet, I don't know how to turn this situation and these complaints into a constructive alternative where I can work the system to my students' benefit. Damned if I'm not an idealist.

Pix from keitai to computer

I just got a prepaid Vodafone handset by Sharp and I've realized that I don't have a way to get my pictures off it anymore! I used to use the infrared port and send them to my Clie, but since my Clie died... I've lost the ability to get my pictures. I can't even email them since I haven't sucessfully been able to send an email. This blows. I have an infrared port on my laptop and on my portable printer, but I can't use them to access my pix. Waah.

PAL DVD to PSP

I've been having a hell of a time getting VOB's to PSP format. I was spending a lot of time trying to just get the image size ratio correct. I knew I'd have to scale the movie to 320x? and was having trouble with the vertical settings. Most of my converted movies ended up looking stretched. I remembered that QuickTimePro allows you to reset the movie size and resave the movie. Looks like it worked. At least on my Mac. I'll have to upload the video to my PSP to see if it really worked. I'll have to upload the movie manually since PSPWare doesn't recognize FFMpegX converted movies. No big deal. I think it has something to do with the lack of a THM file. I just hope that my conversion and resizing efforts finally worked. I've converted Elektra like four times now.

Death of a PDA

I bought my Sony Clie PEG-NX70V/U a long time ago now. It must have been about five or six years ago now. I paid over $500 for it and for a long time I felt like it was an overly expensive purchase.

With time I began to love the basic features, using them the most often. I was lured to the multi-media version, but found myself only using the voice recording feature for my podcasts. I don't need a camera, video, etc. in a PDA. I still prefer a dedicated digital camera, my PSP for video and pictures, and my iPod for music and for use as a digital wallet. But I really used the PDA for reading eBooks, PDF versions of mainly text HTML files, my world clock, storing passwords and other secure information, and keeping notes during meetings. I liked the folding screen since it would keep the PDA at a comfortable distance while lying down and reading. So ergonomically and functionally, I grew to accept the Clie as a part of my daily life.

Now, living in Japan, it's difficult to just run out and buy a new one. I'm considering making a move to live without one and slim down my digital quiver.

• planner, to do list -> on my new cell phone
• phone book -> essentials on my cell phone, the rest on my laptop at home
• emergency on-the-go storage -> PSP
• world clock -> my brain (oh no!)
• voice recorder -> Edirol R-1 (often buggy and it's bulky)
• eBook reader -> ???

The last one is a major issue. I can't figure out how to convert my secure eBooks into a text format for reading on my PSP. I wish Sony would allow folks the leeway of hacks or legitimate 3rd party software for the PSP platform. They're so f*ckin tight-assed. I could boycott them on that issue alone. But that doesn't solve my problem. Back to the internet...

Downloads to SVCD

Well, I've been having fun with ffmpegx. It's a very powerful program with rather cryptic interface that converts tons of different video format into other ones.

Recently, I've figured out how to convert downloaded movies into SVCD which is more convenient for watching, cuz we can just pop it into the TV. The big titles I like to keep in DVD format for the big screen, but there's lot of "secondary" movies that I can easily be happy with at SVCD quality. They look fine on the TV.

I learned that I have to becareful about making sure the source file is on the system hard drive and not one of my larger capacity, storage drives. I also haven't been able to sucessfully convert a PAL DVD into a format that I can use on the PSP. I ripped the DVD into a VOB and then used ffmpegx to convert it into a PSP compatible format. It worked great, but the aspect ratio was screwed up. I'll definitely try again.

Belated PSP Review

The PSP has been getting a lot of attention and for good reasons. However some of those reasons are positive, others negative.

Some points that are missing from a lot of the reviews I've read are:
- I hate the layout of the controls, namely the analog disk. A majority of the games and applications use the analog control and it's too low for either extended periods or when using in any other position than when seated (i.e. laying down).

- The screen is way too glossy! It's impossible the screen images clearly when you have any natural lighting.

- The WiFi is a pain in the ass. I haven't been able to access any wireless hotspots here in Japan.

No Photos on the PSP

I'm unable to view pictures on my PSP now. No more slideshows, sharing pictures, or viewing JPG exports from PDF files - no reading my magazines!

What's happening is that I can view the first ten or so pictures from an album or from the main Photo directory, but after that the PSP just crashes. All the photos are either baseline or progressive JPG files, come either from my digital camera or from a photo editor (iPhoto or Fireworks MX), are under 100KB in size and have been added to the PSP either manually using a Mac or via synching through PSPWare.

This all began to happen soon after I installed the v2.50 upgrade from Sony. Big problem is that I can't downgrade to v2.00 according to the tech support from Sony. I was asked but discounted the possibility of physical damage to the unit.

The Sony support guys asked me to format the MS in the PSP, then reset the defaults, then re-format the MS. I was able to view a bunch of iPhoto thumbnail files alright, but still haven't been able to view more than 10 "regular" images on the PSP without a crash.

I'm either going to have to wait for the next system upgrade, switch to my Palm for all my document reading, or experiement by using a PC to transfer the files over to my PSP.

I'm pretty pissed off right now.