Rob Garrett - Blog » Misc

Reminiscing with a notepad

Rob Garrett — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 23:37:00 +0000

I was in a meeting this afternoon and happened to look back through my
ring binder notepad, which I always bring with me (like the diligent
worker I am). As I looked back through the pages, I realized that
some of the notes were taken back when I used to work for Symbian
in London – that was over 6 years ago before I came to the US! It
was interesting to read all the entries on my to-do list back then.
Some of the software I worked on is no longer available (probably
shelved somewhere).

Other notes I had written on my notepad included details about moving
to the US, various telephone numbers of places to take my car for
repair in the UK, and a really nice note from my friend Liz, who looked
after my kittens (now big cats) for a weekend during my first
year in the America.

A most entertaining read during a meeting….

Big Container Ship

Rob Garrett — Tue, 12 Jul 2005 01:44:00 +0000

Gizmodo posted a note about the OOCL Shenzhen – a huge container ship
that carries electronics hardware from Hong Kong. The ship is
only manned by 19 crew members because almost all control of the vessel is possible
using a single Windows-based terminal.

I was wondering what happens if Windows crashes? That’s a lot of iron and steal to go off course because of a BSOD.

Aircraft graveyard on Google Maps

Rob Garrett — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 02:58:00 +0000

Visit Google Maps, click on the satellite link in the top right corner, type the
co-ords “32° 09′N 110°52′W” into the search box, and then scroll right
and you’ll see satellite imagary of the aircraft storage and dump site
at Davis Monthan airfield. Really cool.

Thanks to my work colleagues Bryan and Sahil for finding this one.

Amazon image manipulation

Rob Garrett — Wed, 25 May 2005 18:51:00 +0000

Ever wondered how the strange Amazon.com URL for images works?

Aaugh.com has a great
article on how to manipulate Amazon images by
changing the URL. When I eventually get my MP3 tag writer off the
ground this will be just what I’m looking for to obtain the correct
album art.

Rocketboom

Rob Garrett — Wed, 23 Mar 2005 10:04:00 +0000

Rob Scoble mentioned Rocketboom on his blog today (because he happened to be included in today’s vLog), so I decided to check it out….
Amanda Congdon presents a daily video log, which is just a hoot. Check
out last Friday’s vLog about DIY interviewing with Amanda –

http://robgarrett.com/blogs//images/robgarrett_com/software/10/r_rb_05_mar_11.jpg.

I particularly liked Amanda’s comment about George Bush :).

[Ring, Ring] Boom!

Rob Garrett — Mon, 21 Mar 2005 17:55:00 +0000

Researched at the University of Kent say that the use of cell
phones in gas stations will NOT produce a spark, causing ignition of
fuel vapor on the station forecourt. Most incidents involving such
explosions are due to static electricity discharging from customers
rather than from use of a cell phone.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/03/21/mobile_explosion_myth/

So… next time you’re stuck in a long line at the pump you’ll be able
to call someone to complain about it, just make sure you’re not wearing
nylon at the time.

Bill Gates gets Knighthood

Rob Garrett — Thu, 03 Mar 2005 18:18:00 +0000

Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, was given the honorary title of knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II of England.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3428673.stm

Is it me or is the Queen handing these things out like candy, and why to non-Brits?

Eagle mounted camera

Rob Garrett — Tue, 07 Dec 2004 01:54:00 +0000

This is really cool. Animal planet is hosting movies taken from miniature cameras strapped to a golden eagle, named Tilly. Tilly lives in the Argyle Hills in Scotland and we get to see first hand what it’s like to be flying on an Tilly’s back as she soars the hills and gets into a dog fight with a buzzard.

http://media.animal.discovery.com/convergence/spyonthewild/birdtech/birdtech.html

Intelsat find satellite again

Rob Garrett — Tue, 07 Dec 2004 00:29:00 +0000

Looks like Intelsat have found their missing satellite. I read a report in the Post that the satellite, which had lost power, suddenly began signaling Earth, enabling scientists to recover it’s position. The post’s article does not comment on the name of the sat but my earlier post indicated that the missing sat was Intelsat-7.

After the loss of communication, Starband Communications – a McLean satellite Internet service provider, could not provide a net connection to over 1000 customers. Intelsat rerouted the Playboy and Nebraska lottery TV channels to another satellite during the incident.

No Internet, not to worry, we still have porn!

Intelsat-7 Satellite Lost

Rob Garrett — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 21:57:00 +0000

Intelsat, Ltd. said that its Intelsat Americas-7 satellite experienced a sudden and unexpected electrical distribution anomaly that caused the permanent loss of the spacecraft on 28 November 2004 at approximately 2:30 am EST.

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/content.asp?contentid=3728

Oops.