WIJFR: Flashforward

Nobel-hungry physicists conducting an unimaginably high-energy experiment accidentally induce a global consciousness shift: in an instant, everyone on Earth is “flashed forward” 21 years, experiencing several minutes of the future. But while everyone is, literally, out of their minds, their bodies drop unconscious; when the world reawakens, car wrecks, botched surgeries, falls, and other mishaps add up to massive death and destruction. Slowly, as recovery efforts continue, people realize that during the Flashforward (as it comes to be called) they experienced a vision of the future.

My latest read is Robert J. Sawyer’s “Flashforward” which inspired the short-lived ABC television series of the same name. I never watched that series but heard that the original novel was pretty good. The idea of everyone on the planet seeing two minutes of their future and how they would react to that was an intriguing concept and I wasn’t let down.

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The streak is finally over

It took going into overtime, but almost two months after their last win (back on December 18 which also happened to be in overtime), the Cleveland Cavaliers finally won a game, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 126 – 119. The Cavs’ 26 losses in a row tied the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ record (back in 1977) for most consecutive losses by a major league sports team.

Of course at this point there’s no way the season is anywhere near salvageable, but at least the pressure of that incredible losing streak is no longer hanging over their heads. We Cleveland fans have been through this all before and know there’s a lot more to come … but we hang in there, just like the players (well, some of them anyway).

Palm is dead, long live … hp?

Yesterday, hp announced a slew of new devices running WebOS (which they acquired last year). One thing was missing from their press event though … Palm. hp’s new devices are branded the hp TouchPad, the hp Pre 3, and the hp Veer

Yes, sadly, the Palm brand is now dead, almost two years after the death of PalmOS.

It’s been over a year since I put down my last Palm device and switched to the iPhone, so at this point I’m pretty much over PalmOS, but I’ll still remember it fondly.

Palm is dead …long live Palm!

Remembering Challenger

The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and “slipped the surly bonds of earth” to “touch the face of God.” – President Ronald Reagan

25 years ago today, the space shuttle Challenger exploded seventy-three seconds after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts aboard. January 28, 1986 is one of those days that I will never forget where I was when I heard the news.

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Why I don’t use Facebook

John C. Dvorak summed it up pretty well (for me) in his recent article on PCMag.com:

If I want a personal webpage with all sorts of information about myself, I’ll go to WordPress.com and make one. By doing this, I don’t turn over any data, control, or information to an onerous third party to sell, use, or exploit. I can close down the site when I want. I can say what I want. I can pretty much do whatever.

If I am the least bit worried, I can use my various providers or other services to post a WordPress blog right from my own server. None of this is possible with Facebook.

TiVo launches iPad app for Premiere

Last week TiVo finally released its iPad app that it had announced back in November.

The TiVo® App for iPad is a fun and FREE new companion for your TiVo Premiere box that lets you search, browse, discover and share without ever interrupting what you’re watching.

Now you can quickly surface new content, view guides, schedule and manage recordings, get recommendations, or investigate a particular actor’s entire resume—all using intuitive, gesture-based iPad interaction. It even enables you to post comments about a specific show or movie on your Twitter or Facebook page. It’s an innovative new way of interacting with your TiVo while you’re kicking back on the couch, or on the road.

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WIJFR: The Foundation Trilogy

For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future—to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire—both scientists and scholars—and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for a future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation. But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. Mankind’s last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit to the barbarians and be overrun—or fight them and be destroyed.

I just finished Isaac Asimov’s classic Foundation Trilogy which consists of three collections of stories: “Foundation,” “Foundation and Empire,” and “Second Foundation.” I’ve read a lot of Asimov’s work in the past (“I, Robot”, “Nightfall”, “Fantastic Voyage”, even “Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids” back in grade school) but somehow had never picked up this Hugo Award-winning classic series until now.

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A year of using Mint

After using Microsoft Money for almost 14 years, last January I started using mint.com to keep track of our personal finances. I wasn’t looking to move my money management into the cloud but was forced to when Microsoft decided to discontinue the online banking portion of Money in February 2010. That pretty much forced me to look for alternatives and after trying out a few, I settled on Mint. It’s been a year … how has it been?

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Bucs finish strong, but miss out on the playoffs

After finishing with only 3 wins last year, my Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints 23-13 to close out the regular season with a 10-6 record. Unfortunately, with the Bears losing to the Packers and the Giants defeating the Redskins, there will be no playoff games for the Bucs (I blame the OT loss against the Lions two weeks ago … thanks for the apology but I’d prefer the 11-5 record and a trip to the post-season instead).

The turnaround from a 3-13 season to 10-6 is a franchise record. Too bad a lot of local folks didn’t get to see a lot of those victories. Unfortunately, the Bucs set another record this year: the only team to have every home game blacked out.

And my Cleveland Browns had another disappointing season, finishing 5-11 just like last year. 🙁

Time to switch to winter sports … the Tampa Bay Lightning are currently leading the Southeast Division and are #2 in the Eastern Conference. I’ll be heading to a game in Chicago in early April to see them play the Blackhawks, but next up is Spring Training  … only 74 days until my annual trip.