More gift ideas

I bought a new cell phone a few weeks ago, and everyone who's seen it has said some variation of "Wow, that's a cool phone—and boy, I bet it was expensive!" So, here's our hot tip on how to look like you spent a whole bunch of money: the same one I got, the SonyEricsson T68i, is on sale at Amazon right now for $24.99. And no, I didn't put the decimal point in the wrong place. Go forth and shop.

I'll take it

Tom, if you recall, you asked me to think of gifts that I'd like to get. If you also recall, we talked about me getting a new monitor. Just buy me the 180 Computer Monitor and we're set for both.

But seriously, folks: if you know of and can recommend a flat panel monitor, put it in the comments. I'm particularly looking for one (which I'm told is available but haven't been able to find) with a switch control of some kind that allows it to be hooked up to two different computers.

Message Board Writer job

Who says that you can't get a job as a weblogger? Hell, I can think of a number of bloggers who'd be perfectly qualified for this one.

Hometown boys make sense

Two reasons why I love our local newspaper:

• Here's how the paper's editor, Ray Holley, ended his column this week:

  OK, the joke's over. Will someone tell that chowderhead in the White House to stop playing his Fantasy President computer game and get serious? He exhumes John Poindexter, a retired Navy admiral who was such a bumbler and scoundrel that he got fired by the Reagan administration after being convicted of lying to Congress, defrauding the government, and destroying evidence in the Iran Contra scandal and he puts Poindexter in charge of the Information Awareness Office, which has a legal right to tap electronic information about you, including your prescription records, bank statements, buying patterns, telephone, travel, etc.
  
  While we're reeling from that, Bush digs up the most gruesome, festering corpse in the catacombs of crooked government, and he puts HENRY KISSINGER in charge of an investigation into the 9/11/01 attacks. This is worse than putting the fox into the henhouse. At least the fox is up front about his intentions. Kissinger is so crooked he can watch himself walking out of the room. If the families of the people lost on 9/11 had any hopes for a fair and just account of what happened, they can forget it.

  You just don't find editorials like that in the big papers.
• Tom's letter to the editor from last week.

An advisory from the shopping goddess

If, like me, you've been trying to track down the Atari Classics 10-In-1 TV Games joystick as a present, but can't find it at any of the usual suspects, fear not: it can be found (yes, really!) at Avon.com. No, I can't figure it out myself, and it's $5 more expensive than it should be, but it's one more thing off my list. And yeah, it says that it's for ages 5 and up, but you know you want it.

Penrose till you drop

For future reference, and just because I find it addicting and fun and cool: a Java applet to make Penrose tiles (link courtesy of Linda).

SF Film

Very much a work in progress, but interesting nonetheless, Gary Westfahl's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Film is worth a look, and may become a valuable reference. Make sure you read the entry on Harlan Ellison; it's a hoot.

Geek gifts

Scientific American has published their Top SciTech Gifts 2002 list. Lots of good stuff for the budding and full-blown geeks on your list. Our choices from their list were:

Sean: Thinks he wants the Cat-A-Pult, which comes with foam cats. He also thinks he's got an idea for a way to make this toy much more interesting; we say he ain't getting this one from us.

Tom: it's a tie between the Test-tube Spice Rack and the X5 LED Long Distance Flashlight. The former because anything that makes cooking geekier is a good thing, and the latter because man cannot have too many flashlights.

Me, I say the perfect gift for the environmentally conscious Mac geek is to sponsor a jaguar. (Link via Boing Boing)

Ours suck less!

Blogdex pointed me towards Rose Kelleher's piece on Why Computer Books Suck. There's a few minor errors in the piece, but overall, it's great coverage of why so few people write more than one computer book. But making a living off the computer book biz can be done; we're proof of that.

I'm frustrated

From the Kind Of Sucks To Be Me Department: I've got the new ReplayTV 5080, but can't set it up until I finish my new book. The pain, the pain...

Gore strategy?

This post from MyDD, a political weblog, suggests that Al Gore's strategy for his next campaign is to say intelligent things without apologizing for them or pandering to the stupid. Compared to Bush, wouldn't that be a refreshing change? Gore's Salvo To the Wingers. His comments (which I think are absolutely correct) had some sting to them; he's now being attacked and ridiculed for them by the same rght-wing agitprop machine that he decries. And hell, I want a president that isn't afraid of using the word "zeitgeist."

Han Solo, switcher

Han Solo. Smuggler. Lover. Hero. Switcher.

More than you wanted to know about laptop toys

A friend of mine recently bought a new iBook, and we had a conversation via email that basically boiled down to "What gifts can I buy this wonderful machine so that it feels the love?" Here's a selection of my recommendations:

• The Boostaroo Headphone Amplifier & Splitter: volume too low when you're watching DVDs? Wish you and your SO could watch a movie together? Here's the answer to both those problems. Hot tip: there's no light on this thing, so there's no way to tell that the batteries have burnt themselves out while sitting in your bag because the switch got shoved over into the on position. Instead, I take a tiny piece of cardboard and insert it between the two batteries any time I'm not actively using it. Now it doesn't matter what position the switch is in; it can't turn on.
• Apple AV cable: allows you to display your iBook's video out to a TV. Why buy an iBook and a DVD player, when this $19 cable allows the iBook to do everything?
• Keyspan Digital Media Remote: if you're going to hook up your iBook as a DVD player, you'll obviously need a remote control for it. This is it.
• Wireless, baby! An Airport card and an Airport Base Station together will let you surf from anywhere in your house or yard. Once you cut the wires, you'll wonder how you ever stayed in one place.
• Apple 20 Gb iPod: Oh, just buy it already. You know you want it. And when you do, let me know, as I'll have a whole 'nother list of toys to buy it.
• As I blogged a couple of weeks ago, Radtech.us makes some cool accessories. I like their ScreensavRz, which separates the screen from the keyboard.
• Ever miss having a mouse? If so, check out the Kensington Optical PocketMouse Pro. This is the only item I have no personal experience with, but everyone I've ever talked to who has one can't figure out how I do without it. It's great for traveling because it's tiny--the USB cable even retracts into the body of the mouse.
• Once you start plugging enough stuff into your iBook, you'll find you need a USB hub. I've been happy with my Belkin USB 4-Port Hub. I also have the Keyspan 4-Port USB Mini Hub, which stays in my travel case because it's so small.
• Once you start plugging even more stuff into your iBook, you'll get tired of constantly plugging and unplugging all those darn cables. The answer to that is Photo Control's iBookEndz Docking Station. I have the equivalent for my TiBook, and I'm not sure how anyone does without it.
• If you start using the dock, you'll want a separate power adapter that you can leave plugged into it. I have the MicroAdapter from Madsonline. Everyone else thinks that I'm crazy, not because I have both the Apple and the Madsonline AC adapters, but because I travel with the Apple adapter. Many people think that Madsonline's is superior, and I admit that they have some points on their side.
• If you do enough traveling, you'll need the Auto/Air Adapter, also from Madsonline. Recharge your iBook from a car, on a plane, wherever. And right now, they've got a special if you want both the MicroAdapter and Auto/Air Adapter (bottom of the page).
• I could do a whole long piece solely about cases. I feel strongly about them, so much so that I have a bad habit of buying them (in one case, right off a guy's back at a conference!). I'll just say that I have and recommend:
  • Madsonline's Neoprene Saver. This, along with one of their Accessory Savers, is always on my TiBook, even if I'm also using another laptop bag. I'm not sure that they have one that fits the 14" iBook, so check with them first.
  • It looks like Tumi doesn't sell the computer bag that I bought from them years ago, which is a shame. It's Napa leather and it converts between a backpack (useful for running through airports) to a drop-dead gorgeous briefcase, just by zipping up the backpack straps. The only reason I don't use this more is that the leather makes it outrageously heavy, but it's wonderful when you want to impress someone with how classy you are.
  • Unfortunately, Briggs & Riley discontinued my favorite computer backpack. That thing's a workhorse; it's been all around the world, frequently holding two laptops and a printer without even straining. Since mine is no longer available, my #1 recommendation for a computer backpack is to get one with a hip belt.
  • For the price, you can't beat the TiBag. Yeah, you have an iBook, not a TiBook, but I think that the dimensions of the 14" iBook and TiBook are similar enough that it might be a good fit. But I have to say that I can't understand why someone whose main goal is to sell messenger bags to Mac users can't design a web site that works with IE/Mac. And yeah, this is the one that I bought off someone's back.
  • I don't own a Laptop Sleeve, but I talked to someone who does, and it looks like a great choice in the size/usefulness tradeoff decision.

Got any further suggestions? Let me know in the comments! And just remember: a computer is like a two year old. Buy it toys and it'll like you back.

He's baaaack...

In The Latest Kissinger Outrage, you'll see how Bush has sabotaged the "independent commission," which he never wanted and was forced into, investigating 9/11 intelligence failures.

...the new "commission" will be chaired by a man with a long, proven record of concealing evidence and of lying to Congress, the press, and the public.

There's lots more. See how Bush is once again lying to and manipulating the American people, and in this case, sullying and trivializing the memory of the 9/11 victims for his political expediency.