ben's journal 2.0 delta

This thing is WAY moved...

2008-04-01T00:12:00.002-05:00

Yeah it moved a long time ago. All posts have been transferred to my NEW Wordpress-powered blog hosted on my own webspace. Go there now:

luminary blur

Opera 9.5 alpha Tomorrow

2007-09-03T17:51:00.000-05:00

Everyone's getting excited about the upcoming release of Opera 9.5 alpha (codename Kestrel) tomorrow. Well, at least I am. I came across this video and I wanted to mirror it here. It highlights a few of the great new features in Opera 9.5. I'm especially interested in the bookmark integration with My Opera. Supposedly Firefox can do this (with an extension or out of the box, I'm not sure) but as an Opera user I'm glad it's finally made its way to Opera 9.5. Enjoy the video, and Happy Opera 9.5 day tomorrow!

Pella Trip

2007-08-27T23:47:00.001-05:00

Just got back from my most recent trip to Pella, IA last night. Here are two slideshows of the photos I took.

Tumblr Activity, Remixed Feed

2007-08-08T00:11:00.000-05:00

There's been a lot of activity going on at my tumblelog graciously provided by Tumblr (benhinc.tumblr.com). My tumblelog posts really don't feed anywhere but Jaiku (which I don't use). I typically try to post a Pownce link about them so at least someone knows they're there. Pownce feeds to Twitter so whatever you check you'll find out.

All of the above are also fed into the sidebar of this very blog. And of course all of the have RSS feeds that you can subscribe to.

I have also "mixed" my Blogger blog using RSS Mixer. The standard feed is:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/bhinc

The mixed page is:

http://www.rssmixer.com/bens_journal

There you can do a variety of things, such as download an Apple widget of the blog, put it on your own webpage, or view it easily on an iPhone.

Enjoy!

Having fun with nanoblogging

2007-07-20T23:00:00.000-05:00

This post ties me with my second-highest number of posts in any given month so far this year (4) but it's not just for record-setting purposes.

I love nanoblogging and all of its forms. It's great to be able to shoot off a thought on Pownce or Twitter (or both). Even Tumblr has its place for more advanced thoughts, especially those that include an image or quote. Plus, Tumblr gets all of the tweets which includes all of the pownces. What a party!

So many of my non-tech friends ask me: why? Who reads the crap you write? The honest answer is this: I don't care. I write nanoblog and microblog and macroblog posts for my own edification. Sometimes it's helpful to work out a thought in words. Sometimes I just need to clear my head. Either way, it's healthy and hey, maybe along the way the things I've learned might help someone else. Considering that I'm a teacher by training but a banker in practice, this at least gives me the opportunity to educate.

Angel on the Bed

2007-07-17T15:17:00.000-05:00

Slideshow

2007-07-15T23:26:00.000-05:00

Just realized you can now embed Picasa albums as slideshows. How cool.

Playing With Angel

2007-07-12T21:19:00.000-05:00

Doing things the "Mac" way: A Skitch mini-review

2007-06-23T14:20:00.001-05:00

Uploaded with Skitch!

I had a discussion earlier today with a friend of mine who is a die-hard Windows user and occasional Microsoft fanboy/Apple basher. You know, the kind who buys a Zune or Sansa just because it isn't made by Apple. We were talking about Skitch, a cool little app that I was just "invited" to beta test. What is Skitch? Essentially it's a whiz-bang annotation tool that allows you to add text, lines, shapes, and arrows to a screen or webcam capture (see the sample skitch above). I've heard a lot of good things about Skitch so far, especially from Merlin Mann, so I was overjoyed when I was allowed to download it. I even stayed up extra late just to play around with it a bit. Indeed, I was so excited that I saved the overview of Skitch (available in Skitch's help) as a Quicktime file and e-mailed it to my friend. I also sent him a few of my early skitches (see my tumblelog for these) to show him what I'd been doing with the program. I was sure he'd be as impressed with it as I was.

He wasn't. First response: "It's like Paint on Windows. I've had that for years." My response: dumbfounded. How could he even be comparing Skitch to Microsoft Paint? I asked him to elaborate. "I can take a picture with my webcam, save it, open it in Paint, and draw on it. Then I can save it again, and do whatever I want with it." Ok, I thought. I can see he is not getting this.

"But Skitch can do it all in one program." I thought I had won him over - yes, you could perform the same functions in Windows and get the same end result. But it was not as easy, and by no means as slick. I thought I had him for sure. Then comes the kicker:

"I don't see the point of it. I don't think I would have any use for it." And that was where it ended. How could I argue with that? If you don't need a program, why use it? I let the conversation stew all day and then while at work it hit me. I have discovered what I feel may be the fundamental difference between Windows users and Mac users. And it all comes down to one thing: my thoughtful rebuttal to his final comment. What do I think the point of Skitch is and what do I use it for?

It's only been a day so I'm not sure if I'll be using Skitch a year from now - I'll say that much right from the start. I think I've already hit on what the point of Skitch is in my introduction - annotation. But why do I need to annotate? And what? This part almost stumped me until I arrived at this: I don't need Skitch, Skitch needs me. I have never had the need to annotate a screenshot or webcam capture before nor have I ever attempted the procedure. Why? Because the old way of doing it - the Windows way - is a difficult, multi-step process that requires multiple saves and several programs. Why would anyone want to do this on Windows with tools like the "PrtScn" key and MS Paint? You could draw a picture of what your trying to say quicker. Skitch is useful because it's there - because it does something that heretofore had been difficult and time consuming. Yes, I might not have a need for Skitch, but because I have Skitch I will find ways that it will work for me. In essence, I am more productive because of Skitch because I am doing something that I would have never considered doing before.

I think my take on Skitch can be applied to the whole OS X experience. OS X is an operating system just like Windows and I will not deny that there are strengths that are inherent to both platforms. But OS X's true strength is its ability to reveal a level of productivity that Windows can only dream of. I do things with OS X that I had never done before on my Windows machine - not because I couldn't do them but because it was either difficult or not readily available. And I'm sure if you would have asked me back then if some of the things I do now were "useful" or had a "point" I would have said no.

Skitch is a fun, easy-to-use app. Do I need its functionality in my daily life? No, not in the least. Do I need to annotate screenshots and webcam captures? Not at all. Will I do these things now because I can? You bet.

iPhoneChat - iChat for iPhone in JavaScript

2007-06-15T23:24:00.001-05:00

These little iPhone apps keep coming and some of them are really interesting. It is truly amazing what you can do with AJAX and a little ingenuity these days.

read more | digg story

Facebook, Twitter, et al.

2007-05-31T22:34:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've done a substantial post to my "real" blog (that is, not a miniblog or a microblog). Funny enough, though, that my thoughts on Facebook also relate to Tumblr and Twitter as well as the whole "Web 2.0" phenomenon in general.

First, Facebook. I've been on and off Facebook for a while, first discovering it in early 2004 shortly after its founding as a way to keep in touch with my former classmates at the University of Oklahoma. At the time I didn't "get it" so I let the account fade away. Later I re-registered because I'd been locked out of the original account due to the fact that I no longer had access to my ou.edu e-mail address. I was surprised to find out that this is against their terms of use and that I should've just e-mailed them about my situation and they would have fixed it for me. Nevertheless, my original account was disabled so I had to rebuild my friends from scratch. This ended up being not too big of a deal for me since it allowed me to "rediscover" Facebook as I went along. I grew to like it more and more but now with the release of "Facebook Applications," I don't see any reason why Facebook shouldn't be my - or anyone's for that matter - primary network. The advantages over Myspace are too many to count, perhaps the number one being that Facebook limits what you can do with your profile as far as customization is concerned. Some may see this as a drawback but I'd wager that no one can say that they've never been to a poorly templated Myspace page. I'm sure I'm also to blame for this as who could resist the tempation to decorate if it's offered to you? Facebook doesn't offer this but they do allow you to arrange the components of your profile which is a handy way to keep what's important to you at the top where it's easily visible. I've just started exploring the available applications (I'm way more liberal than I thought I was, for example) and I'm especially excited to see how the Twitter application works.

Ah, Twitter. The day I discovered Twitter (I'm not sure if it was Leo Laporte or Buzz Out Loud that tipped me off to it first) I jumped in to it head-first. I thought the mobile aspect of it was great until I had two months of cell phone bills with text message overages. For some reason I thought that my plan included 250 outgoing messages and unlimited incoming messages when in fact the 250 number included all messages. This prompted me to turn off the mobile updates but I still enjoy the ability to post an update via my cell once in a while. What's really cool about Twitter - like Facebook - is the open API. This allowed for lots of cool 3rd-party extras, including the most awesome Twittervision and the excellent Twitterific. Posting via a Jabber-enabled chat client (Google Talk, Adium, etc.) was great too - when it worked. Despite the bugs I was hooked from the start and still am. My overall post volume has gone down over time and when I do post it seems to come in fits and starts. Somehow, though, the idea of having three types of blogs - macro, mini, and micro - is on one hand extreme overkill and on the other infinitely satisfying. Sometimes I have a thought or an announcement that needs immediate broadcasting - Twitter solves this for me. Sometimes I see links, stories, videos, photos, etc. that I find interesting and Tumblr makes it very easy to post these in an intuitive and seamless way. And when I really want to sit down and type something out - like this post - Blogger fills the bill nicely.

Speaking of Tumblr...the premiere miniblogging service, at least in my eyes. Like Jaiku, Tumblr lets you import posts from just about any feed you like. So, I have my Blogger posts go there as well as my Picasa Web Albums updates, my Google Reader shared links, and my del.icio.us bookmarks. I'm about to add my Twitter feed to that list so that Tumblr can serve as a repository for nearly everything I do online. What I like about Tumblr is its simplicity which is most evident in its lack of a commenting system. Sure, Tumblr has added the ability to have "friends" as every Web 2.0 site seems to be required to do. But Tumblr's friends are non-intrusive - the only thing that happens is that your friends posts show up in your Tumblr Dashboard. Sure, you could put your friends Tumblr feeds into your favorite feed reader and get the same effect but for some reason it's nice to keep everything Tumblr-related on Tumblr. Google Reader is for my news and Tumblr is for my...fun? I mention Jaiku because after the Great Laporte Exodus from Twitter I headed over to Jaiku like a good little lemming and felt...overwhelmed. Three types of blogs doesn't bother me but hundreds of comments to read through does. Sometimes a thought should be just that - a thought.

The last piece of my Web 2.0 missive is on video. Once upon a time (like what, last year?) YouTube and Google Video were what web-based video was. Uploaded user generated content - what could be cooler? The answer: LIVE user-generated content. This is where Ustream.tv comes in. I know for sure that I learned about Ustream from Leo Laporte and I owe him a debt of gratitude. I also owe a bit to Skype which prompted me to purchase a webcam for video calls. While I ended up not using the webcam much for Skype it has become very useful for my forays into the world of live webcasting. As Leo says, if you would've told me last year that I'd be streaming live onto the internet for all to see form the comfort of my living room I would've called you crazy. The future is here and while I'm not streaming at the moment (transcoding video takes a lot of processor power as it is), the ability to do so at any time is extremely powerful. All one has to do is consider the ramifications of this ability on communications in general and you can get the idea of how big this is. One to one video (e.g. Skype) is cool but one-to-many opens a whole new world of possibilities. Impromptu TV shows, presentations, heck whole new business models could spring out of this ability. It will be interesting to see where Ustream goes from here. I'm sure they have more up their sleeves.

The question all of this Facebook-Twitter-Tumblr-Ustream talk inevitably raises is: what will I be writing about next year? What's the next step? What new idea will someone dream up to revolutionize communications once again? I'm not one to predict so I'll leave those questions for you and me to ponder over the next 12 months. In the meantime I'll be anxiously awaiting WWDC - only 11 days to go!

Live Video

2007-05-21T00:41:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed my new live video stream located in the upper right corner of the page. I'm going to try to stream live whenever I'm at the computer. Also I've got some videos that are archived on the ustream.tv site. Click here to go to my page. Every time I make a recorded video I also post it on my tumblelog (benhinc.tumblr.com) so it will also appear in the tumblr feed in the sidebar of this blog. Here is my latest just for good measure.

Back Online

2007-04-01T20:47:00.000-05:00

Finally got my internet back yesterday (after a week offline) so I've been busy downloading/reading/catching up on podcasts/vidcasts. It's hard to really know how much you miss something until you go a week without it. Oh TWiT, MacBreak Weekly, Windows Weekly, Buzz Out Loud, etc....what would I do without you?

Quickly: New Additions

2007-03-18T10:44:00.000-05:00

Some new "parts" of the blog I wanted to point out. First, the sidebar. I have done a little reorganization and have decided to make a valiant attempt to centralize everything here. The original centralization effort was focused on my page on Google Pages, but considering that that is somewhat more difficult to update than Blogger, I have focused on this instead. Also, Blogger's ability to add feeds to the sidebar makes it extremely easy for things to auto-update. So, now there is a sidebar section for my photo albums which will always list my latest uploads to Picasa Web whether I remember to update Blogger or not (nice!). I also have my Tumblr feed in the sidebar so you can see my latest tumblelog posts. All posts here also get imported into Tumblr. Finally I have added a widget that gives my status in Twitter.

Save Internet Radio! Petition

2007-03-13T22:44:00.000-05:00

Save Internet Radio! Petition

Bent Rim = Flat Tire

2007-03-10T13:09:00.000-06:00

What luck I've been having. The check engine light is still on and now I have a flat.

American Idol Reaction

2007-03-01T19:58:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I'm that...well, whatever word you want to use. Anyway, I think I can sum up tonight's eliminations with one thought: Antonella and Sanjaya need to go home. Now. I can't believe that either of them is still around. Antonella seems to be the most blatantly artificial contestant on the show this year. She is a weak singer yet always manages to act superior. She is the exact opposite of the awesome Melinda Doolittle, who is my current favorite. And poor Sanjaya...he's an okay singer, I guess, but he just seems so awkward. And what was with the whispering thing on Tuesday? I could barely hear the guy. With that said, I'm sad to see Nick and Leslie go. I think they both had something unique to bring to the competition and I vastly prefer them to Antonella and Sanjaya. You know what? Maybe people just like their goofy names...

And while I'm on the topic, here's my top three of the final ten guys and girls. Note that they are unranked.

Top Three Guys:

Blake Lewis - Blake would be a unique choice. Not the strongest singer by far, Blake can throw down the beat-boxing, which is pretty cool all by itself. Also, Blake seems to somehow exude cool without it seeming at all forced or awkward. A definite plus.
Chris Richardson - A safer choice than Blake because I think he might have more mainstream appeal due to his strengths in hip-hop and R&B music. But, unlike Blake, sometimes his "cool" can seem just a bit forced. But, he's definitely better at it than Elliott Yamin who always managed to look awkward.
Phil Stacey - The safest choice of the guys by far. He has a strong voice and wide appeal because he seems so...normal. His military background is especially poignant at a time of war. So, in essence, what Simon calls "boring" I call "moldable." That's right, Phil can become whatever the record label wants him to be.

Top Three Girls:

Melinda Doolittle - Let's be honest: this girl can blow. I've already admitted that I think she's the frontrunner, or at least has a very very good chance to win. Simon is absolutely right about her in that her attitude is so refreshing. She is so unpretentious that's she's almost meek. The other girls probably run all over her...until she opens her mouth.
Lakisha Jones - She's the new Mandisa, and while I liked Mandisa, I like Lakisha even better. Maybe it's because she isn't lugging all that "gospel choir" baggage around with her. Or maybe she is and we just don't know about it yet. Time will tell, but for now she has an awesome voice.
Gina Glocksen - The dark horse front runner. I'm not sure what draws me to Gina. It may be her alliterative name, the fact that she's a local girl (from Naperville, IL), I'm not sure. But I think she has a big voice and a different style about her that is refreshing. She's also not pretentious either - she seems pretty confident about herself and her abilities but not overly so.

What do you think? Leave a comment if you disagree with my selections!

Talk about a short attention span...

2007-02-24T20:21:00.000-06:00

Yeah, so, remember that podcast thing I'd been talking about? Yeah, I don't either. OK, to be honest, I'm really really interested in doing something like a podcast, but the amount of time it takes is kind of daunting. Preparation, recording, post production, posting, etc. That's a lot of work. So, I've decided (for now) to put my "work" into other pursuits.

Introducing...WikiPets. Yes, it's a wiki. Yes, it's about pets. Isn't that cool? Like any other wiki in the world, anyone can contribute and boy do I need it! Three incomplete articles just isn't going to cut it. So if you're a pet lover or just happen to know a lot about pets, sign up and start writing. I'll be here if you need any help. My name on the site is, appropriately enough, Wikipets.

WikiPets

Angel Sleeping

2007-02-21T10:05:00.000-06:00

Angel in Her Two Flat

Angel & Her Toys

2007-02-21T10:00:00.000-06:00

Here's my latest video creation starring my little girl, Angel.

Enjoy!!!

Love This Segment

2007-01-16T23:13:00.000-06:00

I Love Impressions

2007-01-15T00:57:00.000-06:00

The Man of 101 Voices

Add to My Profile | More Videos

SNL on the iPhone

2007-01-15T00:25:00.000-06:00

On the latest Weekend Update, there was a great "interview" with Steve Jobs. I found it to be the funniest thing I have seen on SNL in a long time, which just goes to show how much nerdiness I really do posses.

And, a slightly older SNL skit poking fun at the ever-shrinking iPod:

Colbert on the iPhone (and CES and NASA)

2007-01-12T23:31:00.000-06:00

The Switcher

2007-01-11T22:46:00.000-06:00

To appease myself, I have decided to start hosting a weekly (for now) podcast affectionately titled "The Switcher." I know that there are a few people out there doing similar things so I hope I'm not stepping on any toes. But I think the fact that I am a total Mac geek is very interesting considering I don't use a Mac. I don't own a Mac. In fact, the closest I have gotten to a "modern" Mac is playing with one at the Apple Store. Speaking of the Apple Store, isn't it cool how you can just walk up to them and use them? First thing I do is sign in to Gmail and check and see if I have anything new. So cool. But anyway, the closest I come to anything Apple-related physically is my 5G iPod. Sure, it is filled to the brim with podcast after podcast that are focused on Apple. From MacBreak Weekly to The MacCast to TechNight, I've got Mac on my brain (and in my ears) from morning till night sometimes.

So, I'm starting this podcast for two reasons, really. The first is because I really like to talk about Apple. Second, I want to find out what the cause of my fascination is. Is it a phase? If/when I get my Mac (most likely a laptop since I'm kind of waiting for that rumored 12" ultra portable MacBook Pro), will I lose interest in it? Will it because just a PC? Will my boyish wonder fade away? Or will I smile every time I sit down at it? Hopefully by talking these things through I'll find out.

To check out the live version of my show, click on the TalkShoe graphic in the sidebar at or slightly before 11 PM central time on Thursday nights. You'll be able to listen live or, if you choose, call in and participate. After the live shows, TalkShoe kindly posts the audio of the show so that it can be downloaded either one at a time or via a feed. I may or may not do some minor editing to the show - we shall see.

2k7

2007-01-06T21:56:00.000-06:00

New year, new template. Isn't change wonderful? Also, some photos and video from my most wonderful New Year's weekend.

First, the videos:

Josie Tries to Eat Fish

Sugar Crisp

Mom's Head Dance

and the photos:

New Year's 2006

Christmas 2006

Christmas Videos, Part 2 (of 2)

2006-12-28T00:01:00.000-06:00

Bennett Family Christmas 2006 - Video 10

Bennett Family Christmas 2006 - Video 9

Bennett Family Christmas 2006 - Video 8

Bennett Family Christmas 2006 - Video 7

Bennett Family Christmas 2006 - Video 6

Christmas Videos, Part 1

2006-12-26T15:42:00.000-06:00

Bennett Family Christmas 2006 - Video 5

Bennett Family Christmas 2006 - Video 4

Bennett Family Christmas 2006 - Video 3

Bennett Family Christmas 2006 - Video 2

Bennett Family Christmas 2006 - Video 1

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T13:44:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it out to Iowa to spend Christmas with my family so I spent it instead with my adopted family in South Holland. Church was wonderful and the holiday spirit is truly upon us. God Bless all!!!

Opera on Wii

2006-12-22T15:42:00.000-06:00

Get your Opera on right now. And get a Wii, too.

Angel

2006-12-15T01:58:00.000-06:00

After I broke my arm, I adopted a cat. Here are some pictures...

Angel's First Album

The Arm

2006-12-15T01:57:00.000-06:00

On Dec. 3, I broke my arm. I then had surgery. Here are some pictures...

The Arm

Opera Mini

2006-12-15T01:04:00.000-06:00

As most of you know, I just can't say enough good things about Opera Mini. If you've got a cell phone with the ability to run downloaded Java programs and you have a decent data plan, I implore you to obtain Opera Mini as soon as possible. It will make your phone-based internet experience so much better. Unfortunately I have recently moved over to Verizon from Cingular since my phone is now provided by my employer. I say unfortunately because I no longer have a data plan and therefore cannot use Opera Mini. But...it's free so I'm willing to sacrifice. But you shouldn't! And remember, if you like Opera Mini, why not download the desktop version too? There's a button in the sidebar.

Download Opera Mini for FREE!!!

Facebook Problems

2006-11-19T16:27:00.000-06:00

Once upon a time way back in early 2004 when Facebook had just come in to existence, I signed up for an account at the urging of my friends. I registered under bhinc@ou.edu. Since I had just graduated in December 2003, at the time I was really more focused on getting my life in order back home in Chicago than spending countless hours on Facebook.

Fast-foward 2 1/2 years and I am now ready to throw myself into Facebook after wading through the muck that is Myspace. Facebook is defiintely superior and the "next big thing" as they say. Unfortunately, when I'm ready to log back in to Facebook for the first time in a long time, I don't remember my password. And, to make matters worse, I no longer have access to the bhinc@ou.edu e-mail address I used when I originally signed up. I do have access to bhinc@alumni.ou.edu but that doesn't help me too much. Rather than doing the obvious and trying to get access to the original account by e-mailing technical support, I went ahead and created a new account under ben.hinc@gmail.com (my current e-mail of choice - everything else forwards there anyway). I used my alumni e-mail to join the OU network. All seemed well...until I decided to finally contact Facebook support about my original account.

In my e-mail to the support team I detailed my situation and offered two preferred outcomes: either reset my password so I can have access to the original account or merge the two so that all of my friends both old and new would be retained. Well...it seems having two accounts on Facebook is a violation of their Terms of Service so, while I got my wish of having my original account's password reset, I got the added bonus of having my new account deleted. Yes, deleted. I would've preferred a little warning so that maybe I could rescue a few notes or whatnot, but alas, it is gone. Just gone.

I have my old profile back now, so I guess I should be happy. Now I have to rebuild the damn thing....

Docs Failure, New Pics

2006-11-18T23:37:00.000-06:00

So...my most from Google Docs was only partially successful. The Docs "Publish" page said that if I had a title for my document it would automatically become the title of my post if that feature was supported by my blogging tool. Considering that Docs and Blogger are both Google products naturally I assumed that they would play nice with each other. Well, everything was right except for the title. Oh well, I guess I will be using the Blogger interface for the foreseeable future which isn't a problem.

And now for the new pics.

MX Revolution

My Bank: The Day Before Opening Day

Post from Docs

2006-11-18T15:36:00.000-06:00

Oh gosh, this really isn't a real post. I just wanted to test to see how a post would look if I posted from Google Docs (formerly Writely). I guess I'll get my answer.

Abbie: Fly Hunter

2006-10-28T03:45:00.001-05:00

The GooTube Debate

2006-10-28T03:17:00.000-05:00

I read a lot of tech news and I listen to a lot of tech podcasts. And I am sick of hearing about how much Google's own Google Video product pales in comparison to YouTube. Yes, Google bought YouTube - that's old news. Also old news is the fact that Google Video has decided - at least for now - to run Google Video and YouTube independent of each other. Many journalists, bloggers, and podcasters that I have respect for have questioned this decision based on the perceived superiority of the YouTube model of video sharing. I think they are missing one major point: whether or not it was their intent, Google's video service caters to a completely different audience than YouTube does.

I agree that as far as video sharing goes, YouTube is vastly superior to Google Video. However, this assumes that Google Video and YouTube have users who are looking for the same level of functionality which YouTube happens to implement in a better way. I submit that while YouTube does sharing well, Google Video is more of a video hosting site. Sure, it includes some basic sharing features such as tags, comments, and the ability to post videos via blog, HTML, or MySpace. However, just by looking at the current layout of a standard Google Video page, one can see that the video takes center stage rather than the sharing features which are hidden in menus along the right hand side. This layout, which the journalists, bloggers, and podcasters referenced above might consider to be anti-social, puts the focus on the video. The social functions are merely secondary to the to the primary function of Google Video: storing videos.

When I shoot a video with my digital camera and want to put it on the internet, I go first to Google Video. There are a number of reasons for this. First, Google places limited restrictions on the size and length of videos that can be uploaded while YouTube restricts videos to 10 minutes and 100 megabytes. Also, as far as I can tell, YouTube only provides a web-based upload service. Google Video, on the other hand, specifically offers a downloadable uploader for files larger than 100 megabytes that is available for Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux. Besides these limitations, I find the upload procedure on Google Video to be simpler and more user friendly. I also find the video-centered interface of Google Video to be easier to navigate and much cleaner than YouTube's cluttered pages.

YouTube will probably bring in a lot of revenue for Google and I am happy about that. But to say that YouTube is better than Google Video and let that be the end of the story is a disservice to a great product. It all boils down to this: if you want to share your videos and are looking for a social atmosphere, go ahead and upload them to YouTube. If you are looking for a place to store your digital videos no matter what the length or size is and an easy way to embed them in your blog or webpage, please upload them to Google Video.

Considering my general anti-social tilt, I will stick to Google Video.

Why do I have a NuvaRing CD case?

2006-10-27T02:44:00.000-05:00

Yoda Is the Coolest

2006-10-27T02:41:00.000-05:00

Zoo TV on DVD

2006-10-03T22:18:00.000-05:00

Being the crazy U2 fan that I am, I just had to purchase the DVD of the most excellent Zoo TV concert. I watched the first disk today and I must say that the remastering is great - it both looks better and sounds better. I'm anxious to hear it in full-blown Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 but alas I do not have a sound system capable of this (but I know someone who does). The DVD is currently available on Amazon for $15.99 for the two-disk set. I haven't had a chance to explore the second disk yet but I've heard it contains all kinds of extras. Should be cool, I'll report on them after I have had a chance to check them out.

Roger Waters

2006-10-01T22:50:00.000-05:00

On Friday night, September 29th, 2006, I attended a Roger Waters concert at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheater in Tinley Park, IL. It was a great show albeit a little cold and windy. Look for some video and pictures from the show to be posted here soon.

Also, I have added a new addition to the journal: the "What I'm Reading Online..." section. Recently Google updated its Google Reader software and the changes are phenomenal. The new interface is intuitive and the sharing features are top-notch. The sharing feature is indeed how I was able to add the "What I'm Reading" box. Any new item that I mark to share will show up in the box as well as on my Shared Items page. The page should archive all of my shared items while the box located on this page will only list the five most recent.

I am currently running Release Candidate 1 of Mozilla Firefox 2.0. Anyone who somewhat knows me knows that I am an Opera fanboy so it is quite a leap that I have Firefox installed. Not only do I have it installed, I am using it as my primary browser. Blasphemy, you say? Not quite. I would be using Opera but a nasty bug/incompatibility with Windows Vista RC1 causes the Aero interface to deactivate any time a page using Adobe Flash is loaded. Since Flash is so ubiquitous these days, almost any page I go to causes this to happen. Interestingly, this bug does not affect Firefox or IE7. Of the two, I prefer Firefox so that brings me to today. I have to say that many of the new features are welcome additions, especially the inline spellchecker which is very helpful when typing blog posts. I do question the wisdom of making something like inline spell check a "standard" feature and relegating something as important (at least to me) as mouse gestures to "add-on" status. Mouse gestures are one of my favorite things in Opera and while it's nice that I can add them to Firefox, I don't see why it cannot be included by default - how many lines of code could it be? One other feature I miss is Opera's spatial navigation. This is where you can hold down the Shift key and use the arrow keys to navigate the links on the page. I am usually anti-mouse so any feature that keeps my fingers on the keyboard is a welcome addition. One final annoyance is the fact that Firefox 2.0 RC1 does not support Microsoft's new default program model used in Vista whereas Opera added this to the 9.02 release. Seems funny that Opera is quirkier in Vista than Firefox is yet I can make Opera the default browser in the OS but Windows gives me no option to do so with Firefox. I have filed a bug report with Opera so hopefully they will get all of the Vista-related issues solved and I will be able to go back to my favorite browser.

Jet Photos

2006-09-28T20:31:00.000-05:00

Additionally, photos of the Jet concert are conveniently available online.

Jet

Sep 25, 2006 - 80 Photos

Some Jet Video

2006-09-28T20:27:00.000-05:00

No, not jet planes. Jet the band. Enjoy!!!

Recorded at The Vic in Chicago on 9/25/06 by Timothy Wachowiak.

Ben & Jet

2006-09-26T00:05:00.000-05:00

Me, Tim, and Jet. Pretty cool.

Bush Does U2

2006-09-25T00:01:00.000-05:00

This thing is apparently all over the internets (2,172,147 views on Google Video) so I just had to post it here. Enjoy!

John Deere & Guns

2006-09-21T22:58:00.000-05:00

Went on a day trip today with the Prime Club group from work. It was a long day and I took a lot of pictures. Enjoy!

John Deere

Sep 20, 2006 - 45 Photos

Rock Island Arsenal

Sep 20, 2006 - 22 Photos

The Month of Vista

2006-09-10T17:50:00.000-05:00

First it was Beta 2, then Pre-RC1, then RC1. I must say there has been a dramatic progression in build quality and stability. The only problem I am having with RC1 that I didn't have with Beta 2 is getting the ATI Catalyst beta drivers to install so my x300 would work properly. However, even without the drivers I haven't run into any problems running day-to-day apps. Granted, I haven't tried any games so I will have to fire up SimCity 4 or GTA: San Andreas and find out.

Overall I am quite impressed with the added features in Vista. One of my favorite and most oft-used features is the new "instant search" that is located right in the Start Menu. Just hit Start and start typing - it will instantly search your personal folder and all installed applications. So, if you want to start up MS Word, typing "word" and hitting enter will do the trick. Very quick and very nice. Another useful (and good looking) feature is the new Sidebar which takes full advantage of the new Aero graphical interface. It's not quite as useful as other widget programs out there - the ones I have personally played with are Google Desktop 3 and the program formerly known as Konfabulator (a much better name than Yahoo! Widgets) - but as I said it is pretty to look at and is able to give me up-to-the-minute weather and stock quotes. Another cool feature is Aero itself and all the visual neatness it provides, like the new Win+Tab shortcut. It is used to cycle through items in the taskbar but now it actually graphically reduces all open windows into a 3-D looking stack which can be cycled through by repeatedly pressing the Tab key while holding down the Windows key. When the desired window is selected, releasing the keys causes the window to slide forward to fill the whole screen. All this is flawlessly executed even with my weak x300 graphics card - very impressive.

Most of the apps that I was having problems with on the Beta 2 release of Vista are working now. The few notable exceptions are CD and DVD authoring programs such as Nero Burning ROM, but I have found several alternatives, the best being the free ImgBurn 2.0.0.0 (search FileForum or FileHippo for this program). Video playback programs (basically everything except for Windows Media Player 11) have to shut down the Aero enhancements to properly play video files. My understanding is that this has something to do with DirectX since when VLC is set to another mode (such as Windows GDI), this switch is not necessary. This being said, Vista is usually very good about re-initializing Aero once the offending program is shut down. Very rarely do I need to manually restart Aero, and this usually occurs when an Opera plugin such as Quicktime causes Aero to deactivate. In this case, Aero does not come back on until Opera is completely exited, and even then it may need to be manually turned on.

Having used Vista regularly (and as my primary operating system even though I was warned against doing so by Microsoft), I am happy with the changes and I look forward to officially upgrading to the final release next year. Granted, it is still Windows and thus is by far inferior to many OSes out there. My ultimate dream would be for the nice folks at Apple to release OS X for all computers since it is already ported to the Intel platform. Since this is pretty unlikely (although possibly beneficial for Apple), my plan is to buy an Apple some time next year after Tiger is released. So, what do I get? I have been desiring a laptop ever since my sister got one and I realized how handy it could be. Assuming that the MacBook Pro line will be refreshed with Core 2 Duo processors, I think a MacBook Pro purchase sometime next spring could be highly likely. However, based on Apple's track record, who knows what products will be released between now and then? In fact, maybe something cool will be announced on September 12th at their "special event." We all know part of the announcement will be the iTunes movie store, but Apple is famous for their "one more thing" announcements. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

One Week Down

2006-08-26T23:23:00.000-05:00

I have made it through my first week at my new bank, First Bank of Manhattan. Overall I think it went very well and was nicely capped off by a Grand Opening celebration of their new branch located at 550 W. North St. in Manhattan. It is a beautiful branch and I'm very happy that my branch is being designed and constructed by the same team.

This week will be another busy one. Although Monday is my scheduled day off (and will be until my branch is ready), I will be attending the Manahattan Chamber of Commerce's Business After Hours at our new facility. Tuesday and Wednesday I have meetings in the morning and then the rest of the week should be relatively uneventful.

Tomorrow is "Sunday Dinner at the Bennett's" and if I'm lucky maybe a little Uno Rummy Up or Kings in the Corner. Oh, and I've got some clothes to wash.... Luckily it's so much easier with what I call my "OxiBall" or more specifically OxiClean Detergent Balls with the Toss-N-Go Dispenser. Find out more about the product here. Take it from me, it works great.

Also, there are some new photos in the gallery. Click here for that and enjoy!

Abbie in her Garage

Aug 20, 2006 - 3 Photos

Demolition Derby Car

Aug 26, 2006 - 2 Photos

First Day

2006-08-21T22:00:00.000-05:00

While my first day was met with some initial apprehension, I think that it went very well. The teller system is completely different yet I was able to process transactions on my own after only a few times watching my trainer. I also stuffed statements, weighed and metered mail, and took all of the day's mail to the post office. Had a nice lunch as well.

Tomorrow there is a meeting at 8am so I'm off to bed. More to report as the days go by....

Three New Albums

2006-08-20T23:30:00.000-05:00

Some new photo albums have been added to the gallery page.

Josie's Crazy Ears

Aug 15, 2006 - 2 Photos

Iowa State Fair 2006

Aug 14, 2006 - 35 Photos

Abbie in her Garage

Aug 20, 2006 - 3 Photos

Home

2006-08-19T19:34:00.000-05:00

Home now. Feels good to sit in a chair that is not a car seat. The drive was uneventful for the most part. Stopped twice. Even made it on one tank of gas and it just got to the quarter tank mark!!! How exciting is that?

Abbie is okay. She seems happy to be "home" and was eating heartily last time I looked at her.

The big day is coming - Monday. I hope to post a full report.

Changing

2006-08-17T23:16:00.000-05:00

Apparently I'm playing the "how many times can I change the way my new blog looks" game. I have finally settled on a template although I'm not completely thrilled with it. It's different enough to satisfy me yet I still like the original better. However I have vowed to venture into the unknown (seem to be doing that a lot lately) so it is what it is.

Went to another casino today, actually had fun. Then we went to the outlet mall in Williamsburg, IA where I picked up a few items for the kitchen. Overall a good day.

And now... some long-overdue TV commentary. What's up with Chicken George winning HOH and then nominating James and Erika? If you don't know what I'm talking about read no further - you will probably not be very interested. For the uninitiated I am referring to Big Brother All-Stars, my summer obsession (and I am not overstating that at all). I am anxious to see what transpires. My feeling is that if James does not win POV (that's Power of Veto), he will get voted out. Then what will happen.... Oh, I can't wait.

Vacation Update

2006-08-17T01:20:00.000-05:00

My mini-vacation is halfway over and I'm already wishing it was two weeks instead of one. So far I have made two trips to Oskaloosa, one trip to Des Moines (including a side trip to Altoona), and tooled around Pella.

My first excursion was with Mom to JCPenney in Oskaloosa's wonderful Penn Central Mall. It is seriously the smallest Penney's I have ever seen - the whole store is walkable in under a minute. I got a couple pairs of shorts and picked out some new polos for my dad. Overall a good trip.

On Monday we went to the Iowa State Fair. It was fun. Highlights include the RVs, the pre-fab houses, the "sky tram," and the food. I took a lot of pictures but due to not having access to my computer, I have been unable to get them online. I will work on that. After the fair we went to the Prairie Meadows Racetrack & Casino. We stayed there for seven hours. No, that is not a typo. Seven hours. I was bored out of my mind. I can handle slots for an hour, maybe two - three at the very most. But seven. That's a bit excessive.

For the last two days I have basically been sitting at home by myself since everyone else is either working or at school (or both). I haven't gotten much accomplished although I have managed to work out my parent's DVR/DVD Recorder issues. In fact, I am so impressed with their DVR that I am considering ordering one from Comcast when I get back home.

Tomorrow (or is it today?) the plan is to go to the Amana Colonies to walk around and maybe do a little shopping. We are also going to a Casino. Yes. Another casino. Hopefully it won't be seven hours this time. Seven.

Friday Mom and I will be going to the nice new Jordan Creek mall. Hopefully I will find some good "deals."

Link to Old Blog

2006-08-17T01:18:00.000-05:00

I realized in my last post that I did not post a link to the original "ben's journal." It was (is) located at http://bhinc.home.comcast.net/.

First Post - New Blog

2006-08-16T23:19:00.000-05:00

This is my first post to my new Google Accounts-enabled blog. The following is just some testing...

Bold
Italic
Color
Hyperlink

Supposedly I will be able to merge my old blog (using the original Blogger) with my new blog (using the new beta Blogger) at some point. Until then I will post all new posts to the new blog which will be hosted on BlogSpot.

Thanks for following me...