the world is your acorn

I laughed out loud. literally.

I recently picked up the second book of J. C. Hutchins’s podcast novel, 7th Son: Deceit. I listened to the first book last summer while getting ready to move into the new house, but didn’t have time to get into the second book when it came out in the fall. This summer I’ve been reluctant to start it, because I have so many podcasts to listen to as it is I’m almost always behind. Well, with the third book in the trilogy being released now, I decided it’s time to get going. Hutchins is a great voice actor and the books are totally fun, suspenseful, and even thought-provoking. Basically the story is about 7 guys who discover that they were cloned from the same guy. That same guy, John Alpha, has already managed to kill the president and is implementing some maniacal plan that will result in who-knows-what. The 7 men share the same childhood memories, because at a certain age John Alpha’s memories were recorded and then uploaded into the minds of the clones. After that they followed separate paths, each becoming an expert in a different field. After the assassination of the president the 7 clones are brought back together to help stop John Alpha.

At any rate, I’m glad I’ve started listening again, but woe to the other stuff I’ve got to get done until it’s over.

testing livejournal crosspost plugin

As of about 10 minutes ago, there were something like 20 Nintendo Wiis left at the new Best Buy over in West Nashville on Charlotte. They started the day with 100, and there are still about 20 left, so you have a good chance of scoring if you jump on it soon.

I just discovered the two-fingered scroll and two-fingered right-click in OSX. Holy shit. It changes my life. I don’t know why I never tried it before, but yesterday afternoon I went into my system preferences for some reason, and apparently for the first time, looked at the options for trackpad settings. Now I never have to drag the cursor over to a scroll bar (although I can’t get the horizontal scroll to work when I’m in Parallels), or ctrl-click again. Wow. I bet that’s like an extra 3 minutes per day that that’ll save me. Productivity indeed!

Just installed Parallels RC1 build 3120 and Windows XP on my li’l ol’ MacBook. It’s kinda magical. Not that there are really any Windows apps I want. I’m going to use OneNote for a while to take notes to see if I like it better than VoodooPad. Other than that, I’ve installed Lemonade Tycoon 2 for my time wasting pleasure. Not sure what else I’ll do with it.

I just discovered Afloat recently, although lifehacker blogged it in November. What I like most about it is the ability to keep windows on top. Sometimes I read pdfs or websites and want to take notes in another app, but I want to keep the text visible and my own notes underneath. Afloat also allows you to change the transparency of the window, and some other neat stuff. It only works with certain programs, but it’s perfect for Preview, Quicktime, and Safari (not Firefox, unfortunately). I’m sure it’s good for other uses, but this is just what I’ve been looking for to help me with research for school.

It’s called booksling. Keep your pens and pencils with your book, and mark your place. Genius. I must have it. No, I must have 7.
Little Red Haired Girl? Lady E? Hello? Anyone out there? Can you hear me? I must have it.

OhGizmo! is giving away a bunch of great stuff to a single lucky winner for the holidays. All you have to do to enter is blog about the contest! Here are the prizes so far:

Gift Certificate, From Vaja Cases
Vaja make some of the most beautiful cases on the market. They’re all handcrafted Italian leather, and are available for almost any gadget out there. Our own Andrew reviewed one right here. Well, the company will be giving away a $100 gift certificate.
[ Vaja Cases ]

Nexus Laser, From Wicked Lasers
If you’ve been reading this site for some time, you’re aware of Wicked Lasers. We’ve reviewed their products here and here. They make the most powerful green laser pointers on the market; anywhere from 10 to 50 times more powerful than a traditional red laser pointer. The model being given away is a Nexus, rated at 95mW, and about 20 times stronger than a regular pointer. It’ll burn through paper, cut through electrical tape and has a range of 38 miles. A value of $370.
[ Wicked Lasers ]

The Biohazard Watch, From Tokyoflash
Again, if you’ve been reading this site for any amount of time, you’ve probably become aware of our love affair with Tokyoflash watches. They’re the coolest, most impossible to read watches, and will instantly turn you into a conversation piece. Well, the company sent us advance info on their upcoming model called “Biohazard”, which features an advanced LCD to create an extremely detailed multi-colour LCD watch. It’s a little like the type of display you expect to see on a car stereo. We’re the very first ones to display its picture, and its also up for grabs. Value of $140.
[ Tokyoflash ]

ID Messenger Bag And Accessories Package, From Tom Bihn
If you’re going to be carrying your gear around, you’re going to need somewhere to put it in. Tom Bihn makes some very nice bags, and they’re giving away their redesigned ID Messenger Bag, along with a Brain Cell or Soft Cell of the winner’s choice, and the Absolute Shoulder Strap and Quick-Adjust Messenger Strap. That’s a $235.00 prize package.
[ Tom Bihn Bags ]

Neuros Recorder 2 Plus
If you were around two weeks ago, you know what this is. For those of you first reading this article, the Recorder 2 Plus allows you to digitize any analogue video content, and instantly convert into several formats for playback on mobile devices, be it iPod, PSP, Smartphones, etc. It’s a value of $130.
[ Neuros Recorder 2 Plus ]

Abacus Smart Watch
The Abacus Smart Watch is cool for a different reason that the Tokyoflash offering. It syncs with MSN Direct service, and through it you have access to a variety of content, such as the weather, the news, sports scores, traffic, Microsoft® Office Outlook® calendar synchronization*, and even MSN Messenger personal messages*. It comes with a 12 month subscription to the service. Value of $180.
[ Abacus Smart Watch ]

The Ice Jacket
Some time ago, we looked at a device that allowed you to encase your liquor bottles in ice. It was called the Ice Jacket, and was not yet commercialized. Well, the company recently contacted us, and let us know that the product is finally coming together, and should hit the shelves soon. So, one of these is up for grabs as well. That’s a $40 value.
[ Ice Jacket ]

HP Printing Mailbox With Presto
It’s not everyone that wastes their entire days reading blogs. Your grandparents for example might waste them watching TV instead. That might be because they’re technologically challenged, but it doesn’t mean that they can’t receive emails. With this HP Printing Mailbox, pre-selected email addresses can send directly to the printer. Your loved ones just have to pick up the paper, and read your email. Presto is giving a printer away, along with three months of service. Value: about $180.
[ Presto ]

IncipioBud With Apple iPod Shuffle
The IncipioBud is a cool, $6 gadget that allows you to connect your Shuffle directly to your computer, bypassing the dock altogether. It’s useful, cheap, but doesn’t work without a Shuffle. So, the company is including one! Value: about $100.
[IncipioBud]

As mentioned earlier, we’re talking to a few other vendors, and waiting on confirmation. We’ll let you know as the list gets longer.

There is a Simple Tech 1GB USB flash drive for $15.90 after rebate and a 2GB version for $25.47 after rebate at Buy.com. Shipping is free, although if you’re in TN watch out for taxes (they seem to have a warehouse here). I got the 1GB version, and it’s pretty good for the price. It’s not fast, and it’s about standard size for a flash drive, but it works and is reliable. And cheap, if you’re willing to play the rebate game. Deal ends at the end of November, I believe.

ps – I don’t work for Buy.com or anything, it’s just a good deal that I wanted to share.