Fun Stuff

Interactive Wall

/ Shane / Leave a comment

This is a really cool idea, basically, make a wall out of LED bulbs and put some sensors in so that it reacts to humans…well, you can read this description:

The wall includes tracking devices and low-resolution LED displays and is capable of showing many different visualizations based on the presence and movement of people. The 35,000 LED bulb installation is now installed permanently at La Vitrine Culturelle and can be seen every evening from 7 to 11 (145, rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, Montréal)

So that’s the description, but you really have to see it for yourself:

Link via Urban Prankster.

Google Voice

/ Shane / 4 Comments

I now have a Google Voice account! Have you heard about this?

Basically, you pick a new phone number, but you keep all of your existing phones. You then set your Google number to forward to your regular phone(s). “What’s the point?” you ask. Well, there’s several reasons why you might do that:

  1. The phone number is independent of your other phone numbers. So if I get a new cell phone, home phone or work phone, I just update it in my settings. Either way, people can always keep the same number.
  2. You can have your google number ring multiple phones. So maybe during the day you can have your google number forward to your work phone, and in the evening to your home phone, but have it also ring your cell phone, no matter what time it is. So when someone calls that number, they have the best chance to reach me. You can even set this up per person, so maybe when my wife calls I have it always ring all of my phone numbers, but for other people I can redirect them right to voicemail without having any phones ring.
  3. You can pick your own phone number (see more on that below).

Now, if you get to pick your own phone number, you know you want to get it right. I spent almost an entire day trying to come up with a number that spelled something cool. I tried my first name, my last name, “pirates”, “bacon”, “packers”, “go pack”, “zombie”, everything the same digit like 555-5555, etc. Nothing. I eventually came up with something that was okay, but it was a lot more difficult than I anticipated.

There are also many other cool features, such as:

  1. You can have individual greetings, per caller, on your voicemail. Sort of like YouMail, but more comprehensive.
  2. I don’t have a text messaging plan on my phone, so text messaging is expensive. But I can send and receive texts for free to/from my google number.
  3. You can set it up so that if you get a voice mail, it will transcribe it to text and send that text to your phone.
  4. Remember when we had old school answering machines? You could listen to the caller and then, when you realized it was your brother calling from jail, you could pick up the phone and talk to them? Well now you can do that again, with your voicemail.
  5. You can record any call as well as download sound files of any voicemail.

There are tons more things it can do, those are just the ones that stood out. And the best part? It’s free! Ah, Google, what will you think of next? So, if you want my new phone number, let me know (you didn’t think I was going to post it on the Internet did you?)

A smarter way to wake up

/ Shane / 3 Comments

There are a lot of cool alarm clocks out there. Maybe they just look cool or retro or maybe they do something crazy or unique when they go off. Sara has a Moonbeam alarm clock, which starts blinking a light before the actual alarm goes off, to wake you up more “gently”.
I say “gently” because when it is dark in the room, a huge flashing light is just about as jarring as the actual alarm. But I digress.

So there are clocks that try to be a little more gentle waking you up, but now there is an even cooler clock out there, one that actually improves your sleeping. Basically how this thing works is that you wear a head band while you sleep and that head band wirelessly sends information back to the alarm about your brain waves. You can then plug this into a computer and get print outs and graphs about how your sleeping schedule is working for you and even tips about how to improve things.

But here’s where it gets really cool. A tip a sleep doctor gave me about sleeping is that if you feel tired when you wake up, try waking up 30 minutes earlier. This is counter-intuitive obviously, but moving your alarm time might catch you in a lighter sleep cycle, which would make you feel more rested when you wake up.  So, with this clock, you can set the alarm so that if it detects you are in a light sleep cycle and it is almost time to wake up, it will go ahead and wake you up. That way, it avoids waking you up in a deep cycle which would leave you feeling groggy.

That is some pretty sweet technology at work. Is it worth $400? I don’t know. The article kind of indicates that it might fix your sleep simple because you’re like, “I’m not wasting $400 without some results!” so you actually do all the things you know you should be doing anyway.

People actually said this stuff

/ Shane / 1 Comment

There was a great article listing things that people actually said during job interviews. They’re all pretty good, but I’ve listed some of my favorites:

What are your hobbies and interests?

“[He said] ‘Well, as you can see, I’m a young, virile man and I’m single — if you ladies know what I’m saying.’ Then he looked at one of the fair-haired board members and said, ‘I particularly like blondes.'”

Do you have any questions?

“If I get an offer, how long do I have before I have to take the drug test?”

Why are you leaving your current job?

“I was fired from my last job because they were forcing me to attend anger management classes.”

What are your weaknesses?

“I get angry easily and I went to jail for domestic violence. But I won’t get mad at you.”

“I am an alcoholic and do not deserve this job.”

“I’m really not a big learner. You know … some people love learning and are always picking up new things, but that’s just not me. I’d much rather work at a place where the job is pretty stagnant and doesn’t change a lot.”

Tell of a time you made a mistake and how you dealt with it

“I stole some equipment from my old job, and I had to pay for its replacement.”

Random Responses

“Wow — I’m not used to wearing dress shoes! My feet are killing me. Can I show you these bloody blisters?”

“May I have a cup of coffee? I think I may still be a little drunk from last night.”

Fancy Fast Food

/ Shane / 2 Comments

Just because you’re eating fast food, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be fancy. I think the website describes it best:

These photographs show extreme makeovers of actual fast food items purchased at popular fast food restaurants. No additional ingredients have been added except for an occasional simple garnish.

Basically, they take food from a fast food restaurant and convert that food into something that looks amazing, with step by step directions along the way. I can’t speak for the taste, but the look is amazing. You would never guess the origins of the dishes.

Before

Before

After

After

I don’t think I’m really up for trying any of these, I think I’d rather just have the fast food. But if anybody does try one out, let me know!