Nikhil's Daily Log

GrandCentral activated!

2007-07-23T10:57:00.001-04:00

Bombing Tragedy in India

2006-07-11T20:43:00.000-04:00

On a more serious note...Most of you should be familiar by this time with the recent train bombings in India. (Those of you who are not, just hit Google News and search for "India Train Bombing" and you'll get the scoop.) I appreciate the thoughts of those who have called and e-mailed.It is a bit of a scary time for us, as all calls to the region are exceeding network capacity - probably

Dry tortugas?!

2006-07-06T00:12:00.001-04:00

For some reason, this phrase has been stuck in my head for the past 3 days. I know I've heard it somewhere before, since it sounds familiar. It just cracks me up to say it. It has to be real - nothing that sounds that weird can be fake.I'll Google it after I get some sleep.

Analog clocks

2006-07-06T00:12:00.000-04:00

There was a discussion on WKDD this morning about people not being able to read analog clocks. Verily, this is a statement on the sadness of bad educational guidelines. How are children getting out of first and second grade that cannot look at a clock and tell the time? Have we become this dependent on digital clocks that we have become stupid?Your comments are most welcome!!!I have always

Posting some back-logged drafts

2006-07-06T00:11:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay. I had, you know, work. And stuff.

Verdict: Blu-Ray

2006-07-05T23:30:00.000-04:00

Ryan and I stopped into Best Buy before the movie to check out the new Samsung Blu-Ray player advertised in the paper. (And to walk off the chimichangas.) Anyway, we were greeted by a display on a modest 30-inch LCD hooked up via HDMI (digital), and were impressed with it.BUT!... We were SHOCKED to see that pausing an image listed as 1080p (progressive scan for you non-HD otakus), was HORRIBLY

Raptor X - the coolest hard drive

2006-07-02T10:23:00.000-04:00

So you all know my plans for the Nikhil Super-Box, coming in late 2006. I had planned on using a Western Digital Raptor hard drive. This drive is lauded by enthusiasts for its insane speed and reliability. Well, WD has done two cool things. First, added a 150GB version to the 36 and 74 they had, and then this, the Raptor X:Yes, that's right. IT HAS A WINDOW. And, you can see the heads

Superman - he's up, up, and sorta coasting...

2006-06-29T01:33:00.000-04:00

So the deal is done. I just got back from the 10:15 showing at Tinsel Town, and it was quite interesting. My companion for the screening was Ryan (yes Rob, he's still alive, and he says Hi!). Luckily, we guessed right and few kids were there.First, tons of previews and commercials (why am I paying $8.50 a ticket with all the subsidies from those, again???) instead of the old slide shows with

One more day...

2006-06-27T00:08:00.000-04:00

One more day to go until Superman time! They could really polarize this film to the ends of the quality spectrum. It's either gonna rock, or be terrible. I can't see it finding a middle ground.I am satisfied with Bryan Singer directing it. He did, after all, kick some azz on X-Men 1 and 2.

A little morning golf

2006-06-25T15:42:00.000-04:00

Andrew and I hit the links this morning for a nice round of 18. Sanctuary was the host of the round, and it was pretty good. Starting out somewhat early at 9:30 was odd, as the greens were waterlogged, and you could feel them speeding up every hole until #5.Did I mention the girls working the clubhouse today? WOW. The brunette was quite possibly the perfect body. Sadly, the face did not live

The Cult of David

2006-06-24T20:46:00.000-04:00

Brent and I realized that we are in a cult. Our "positive thinking" (Appreciative Inquiry) class is based on material by someone named David. The Waco cult was headed by David Koresh. Coincidence? I think not.

The PC Desktop of the future

2006-06-21T17:53:00.000-04:00

I know I'm gonna take lots of flak from my buddies on this one, but I really think this shows a very intuitive paradigm for computer use, especially for the more non-technical users among us. I could totally see my Mom getting used to organizing files and a desktop this way. Go to the site, and be sure to click the YouTube lo-res preview to get a quick idea. You can always do the

The coolest USB drive ever.... for SATAN.

2006-06-19T18:05:00.000-04:00

This is beautiful, for the sicker among us. A cute little teddy bear! Awww.....! Now, let's YANK HIS HEAD OFF AND PLUG HIS BODY INTO A COMPUTER! Aaaaaa!!!!!! USB teddy bear holds data, scares children - Engadget Blogged with Flock

VMWare oddities

2006-06-14T10:13:00.000-04:00

He says it's not useful, but I beg to differ! Good VMWare tip... Failed Sandbox Peer Launches (or Something) | The Dumping Ground Blogged with Flock

Virtual CD-ROM for Windows XP

2006-06-13T16:29:00.000-04:00

In case people were not aware (most are probably not, as this is well-hidden), Microsoft offers a tool to mount ISO images to virtual drive letters. It is very small, and low-footprint. It's nice for mounting a drive without installing heavy apps like Daemon Tools or Alcohol 120%.How to use the Windows PE image that is included with the Microsoft SMS 2003 Operating System Deployment Feature

Major Vista UI Issues...

2006-06-12T17:55:00.000-04:00

... are shown in this awesome list by Chris Pirello. It scares the heck out of me that the same font dialog box from Windows 3.1 is STILL in Vista. It's a sheer travesty that it is in 2000 and XP as it is...

Router Hacking

2006-06-11T18:53:00.000-04:00

I just finished loading DD-WRT onto my Linksys Wireless router. The only question to debate now is whether I trust it enough to replace my frontline router, or to continue to use it as a "second line of defense."I must say, running cron jobs on one's $80 router, is pretty d@mn bad@ss!!!

Blogging from Word “12”

2006-06-09T23:35:00.000-04:00

Ever since Stacey mocked me (and rightfully so) for not updating my blog when school got hectic, I’ve turned back into a blogging beast. OK, not the blue kind from X-Men 3: The Atrocity.So now Microsoft Word 2007 lets you post directly to your blog. I’m not sure if this will actually work, and how it will look (since it’s using the new Calibri font that NO ONE will have)… Ah well – gotta try

Sony UX-90: Get ready to sell your left nut

2006-06-08T21:28:00.000-04:00

Dynamism.com - Next Generation Japanese Notebooks and ElectronicsCan anyone deny that this is the coolest damn thing ever made? It's a full-fledged PC with WiFi, 2 cameras (one facing you, one facing out), keyboard, fingerprint reader, mouse, and god only knows what else.Membership to the club of the Geek Elite is not cheap, however, at a price tag of around $2100.

Why does everyone just LOVE Google?

2006-06-07T21:23:00.000-04:00

TechCrunch » Blog Archive » Google to add Albums to Picasa! And I Need to Vent It's a valid question. Everyone seems to need a damp towel everytime something is released, to say nothing of innovation or the complaints that Google products/services are perpetually in Beta, like Google News which has been in beta since 2000. Blogged with Flock

What, me sleep?

2006-06-06T20:59:00.000-04:00

Just a quick thanks to Lea for assisting me with a sleep deprivation experiment to find out exactly what 2.5 hours of sleep can do to the human psyche. Not zesty, but I'll let her off with a warning this time...Blogged with Flock

Give it to Andy.... he'll eat anything!

2006-06-06T10:11:00.000-04:00

Andrew actually tried the Coke Blak. And he liked it. That goes to show that there's just no accounting for taste. ;)Blogged with Flock

Must.... sleep....

2006-06-06T03:08:00.000-04:00

Thunk.

Once you try Coke Blak you never go back...

2006-06-05T16:35:00.000-04:00

So Billy, and others, had expressed interest in trying Coke Blak. I had seen it on the shelves at our local Giant Eagle, but had no idea what it was. (For the uninitiated, it is apparently Coke with coffee flavor. Yeah, yummy.) I bought a four-pack over the weekend (for FIVE D@MN DOLLARS), and brought it in for us to try out today. Well, I can report that it does, indeed, taste like

National Spelling Bee on TV

2006-06-02T14:16:00.000-04:00

For the first time, the final several rounds of the National Spelling Bee were shown live on Primetime Television last night. The coverage included the top 25 spellers and also showed little bio clips on each of them. It was pretty cool, and somewhat nostalgic. The scary thing was looking at some of the word etymologies. One of them went from Persian to Turkish to Greek to