The Bis Key Chronicles

The iRobot Roomba does my carpets

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Gandalfe

Those of youse on my Facebook friend list saw this post about ten minutes ago:

So I thought I’d point those interested souls to this site:

It’s the iRobot site and we also use the Scooba for scrubbing the wood floors. They even have iRobot Looj for cleaning gutters; how cool is that! Here are some FAQs about the Roomba:

Can Roomba be used on deep carpets and hard floors?

Yes! Roomba picks up an amazing amount of dirt, dust, pet hair and other debris from your carpets and hard floors. Roomba automatically transitions from one floor surface to the next, including carpets, rugs, tile, linoleum and hardwood floors.

How do Virtual Walls and Virtual Wall Lighthouses work?

A Virtual Wall® creates an adjustable, invisible, infrared beam that Roomba will not cross. Virtual Walls are used to block off-limit areas in your home. We have three versions, including a compact Virtual Wall and an Auto Virtual Wall.
A Virtual Wall Lighthouse™ can be set to Virtual Wall mode or Lighthouse mode. Lighthouse mode ensures the most efficient room-to-room cleaning. It confines Roomba to one room until that room is thoroughly vacuumed then directs Roomba to the next room. It can also be set to Virtual Wall mode to block off-limit areas. To determine Virtual Wall or Lighthouse compatibility with your Roomba, see the Virtual Wall and Lighthouse product pages.

How do children and pets react to Roomba?

Everyone’s children and pets react differently; most tend to be curious at first, then get used to it soon after. In fact, many customers write letters (and send photos) about how entertained their pets are with their new robotic friend. Roomba is ideal for keeping up with pet hair, crumbs and everyday messes that accumulate on your rugs and hard floors.

I ordered mine on Amazon.com and got them within days. What astounds you about technology today? :O)

Posted in Technology | 2 Comments

Would you buy a pre-owned BMW?

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Gandalfe

I don’t think we’ll ever see this ad in the U.S. It’s BMW Germany ‘s campaign for their factory approved "pre-owned" cars. I remember how shocking Europe was to my wife and I when I was stationed in Germany in the 70’s and then again in the 80’s. There was nudity every where, even in down town Munich where nudists lounged in the main city park that you walked by to get the Museum of Technology.

I remember taking my seven year old daughter to the public bathrooms in the main part in Nuremberg and running into a senior lady walking out of the facilities totally naked. I mean, I must of blushed so red that you could have used my face as a stop light. I don’t think my daughter even really said anything, but I was so embarrassed.

The ads in Europe are the same way. If there’s a shower scene, nudity is obligatory. There are building-sized signs with nudity playing a big part of the experience. And the works of the masters are more exposed than not. As I get older this doesn’t seem to effect me as much. But this campaign reminds me of the Cosmo-kind of article that might be titled something like, “10 things a Man Thinks When he Sees a Naked You”. Um, I’m thinking there is probably much less than 10 things in most men’s minds. But I have to wonder, if this campaign was aimed at women, which it clearly isn’t, what would that look like?

Posted in Too Spicy for some | 2 Comments

Concert Prep for the Hobbyist

Posted on April 18, 2010 by Gandalfe

I was reading David Thomas’ “My Concert Preparation” and I thought is was very apropos as I prepare for the Woodinville Community Band Spring concert “American Remembrances” scheduled for this afternoon at 3 PM at the Redmond High School Performance Center. David talks about simple practice that is stated thusly, “In general I try to keep the day stress free, and my mind calm.”

Soloists can be the folks with the most stress. Today they don’t have enough time to read "The Inner Game of Tennis" by Gallwey but I strongly recommend it. As an emergency stop gap, just listen to the beautiful sound you are making and concentrate on the vibrations in your fingers as you play and how wonderful that feels! Pavaroti spoke of how nervous he got before going on stage to the point where he thought he would be completely incapacitated. After hearing the first few notes he sang on stage, all of that stress melted away and he was perfectly comfortable.

Gallway talks about playing out of your game, out of your mind, seemingly effortlessly. If you’ve practice your music for the months leading up to the concert, strive to relax and enjoy the experience. Make sure you play some scales and that your instrument and reeds are ready early in the day. As David sez, listen to some nice music and arrive early enough for the performance so that you can get comfortable with the venue. All of this kind of preparation can improve the experience on concert day.

Posted in Music | 1 Comment

Neil Gaiman talks to my grandkids, and to me…

Posted on April 15, 2010 by Gandalfe

"Remember, dragons have one soft spot, always."

Posted in Books | Leave a comment

Microsoft Outlook 2010 and Windows Live Calendars Unite!

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Gandalfe

Gary, a friend of mine was showing me how his calendars on Outlook at work included his personal calendars from his Windows Live subscription. I was very impressed and discovered with the beta version of Microsoft Outlook 2010 that I have the same thing. From work it looks like this:

On the left I have listed my work calendar, my home calendar, calendars from the various bands I’m in, and in Casa du Glassa, a calendar for the extended Glass family. I can turn on the calendars or leave them off as desired.

My home calendars look like this. It includes a calendar my father runs with all birthdays and anniversaries for family and relatives. Note the use of icons for some reoccurring events:

The nice thing is that now at work, on mobile or at home I can access all of my calendars in a moments notice. So double booking events such as a concert when I’m going to be out of town for a work conference should be a thing of the past.

For some people this might seem insane to run that many calendars and be involved in so many activities. For me, that’s just the way it has always been.

Posted in Technology | Leave a comment

Experiments in Sax and Clarinet Choirs

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Gandalfe

Just for the experience I put together a sax choir and a clarinet choir for the Woodinville Community Band’s Music Ambassador program. The Ambassador program visits and performs at various senior citizen centers right before our concert so that the audience might get the bug to attend. Both music groups met on and off for three months and then gigged this weekend. The sax choir consisted of soprillo, soprano, alto, tenor, bari, and bass saxophones. There were 10 musicians in all. Here is a sample recording:

The clarinet choir consisted of soprano, alto, bass, and contra bass clarinets. There were 8 musicians in all. Here is a sample recording:

You might notice four musicians in both groups: Suzy and Jim Glass, Greg Cagle, and Charlie Wickham. It was the only way we could get the clarinet choir roster filled out. And we borrowed Jean Davison to help us cover alto clarinet from another group.

When the flute choir cancelled at the last moment and the sax choir folks were not available for a follow-on gig that night with the Brass choir, Molly Thompson, Suzy Glass, Greg Cagle and I threw together a quick set and covered for the flutes. That went pretty well too but I didn’t get any footage. No worries as the Professor Gadget Sax Quartet will be performing at the Ballard Locks in September and I hope to get some great video there.

Posted in Music, Saxophone | Leave a comment

Portals done old-school

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Gandalfe

I talk about certain laptops being portals and not much more. By that I mean that the computer isn’t really powerful or fast enough to run much more than the Internet browser. But that is a very valuable device for people on low or fixed incomes who want to keep up with what’s happening out there.

When I saw this picture today, I thought of old-school architectural portals, the kind you never see in the US. I suppose the people who walk through this daily don’t give it much thought. I mean, could you ever get used to beauty like this? But to me, it is just a wonder to behold, treasure, and build stories around.

Ireland by Julie Yack

I do notice the runoff problem that created a step obstacle in the walkway, but that would be easy to fix without ruining the scenery with modern culverts or concrete. Marvel at the arch though, how strong is that shape to have lasted as long as has. And it doesn’t look like they used mortar for the archway stones; they appear to be held there by precision form-work and good design.

Posted in Travel | Leave a comment

Unvarnished.com: You want the truth; you can’t take the truth!

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Gandalfe

When I was a cadet attending the ROTC Summer Camp two catastrophic things happened. First Mt. St. Helens erupted spewing ash all over the western US. Secondly, the curriculum included a peer rating system. After a few weeks of working together, you rated the 30 people in your platoon from top to bottom. I did not look forward to this. The Special Forces officer and sergeant who were to give me my results asked, “How do you think you did?”

I mumbled something about being stack dab in the middle. I figured that most people either hated or loved me, there was rarely any middle ground. I thought I saw them blink when I expressed this and they said, this survey confirmed that for me. I would like to think that I’m less harsh on those I don’t respect so that today there are more people in the middle ground. But that could just be wishful thinking on my part. I do find myself fortunate that my wife and some friends lessen the impact of Jim (the hammer) Glass.

I saw this today and was reminded of my peer rating experience. I got off lightly btw; there were folks (in the bottom third) who were devastated by the peer review. These were private reports. Now imagine them being made available to the world:

Social Networking Site or Rumor Mill? Unvarnished Lets You Burn – and Be Burned

Picture this: You and another coworker are vying for the same promotion, but your boss awards it to you. Your coworker congratulates you through gritted teeth, then logs on to a new corporate-inspired burn book, and blasts you for "sleeping your way to a promotion that you didn’t deserve."

Sound far-fetched?

Not anymore. Today, Unvarnished made its debut. Unvarnished is an anonymous social network (think: LinkedIn meets Yelp review features) where professionals can praise—or criticize—past or present coworkers. Right now, the site is in invite-only beta (so you can breathe a momentary sigh of relief). But you can join the waiting list by visiting the site, or wait for a private alpha user to request a review from you via Facebook.

Once you’re a member, you can choose to claim your profile (which gives you "super user" privileges, which include updates, ability to comment and request new reviews), but with a catch: You have to accept every post people have submitted—the good, the bad and the ugly. And once you’ve claimed your profile, there’s not taking it down; it’s there forever, the company says.

If you choose not to join, people can still post about you. You just won’t have the opportunity to add anything yourself. It’s an unappetizing situation, either way.

Read more…

I just don’t see an upside. There seem to be quite a few sites out there for rating you and your co-workers (a Yelp.com of sorts, only for people). In addition there is http://www.medentify.com/ that rates people by phone number or email and also http://www.coworkers.com/ that does co-worker feedback.