We were able to get tickets for the Guided Tour at half-off. We'll probably go back some evening and take the (free) self-guided Garden Tour to check out the grounds. My favorite part was the stained glass in the front part of the house. The rooms inside were dark, so the windows were quite stunning in the morning light. Nicole's favorite part was the simple fact that after visiting a few rooms, you were completely turned around, couldn't tell which way was north, and wouldn't have been able to find your own way out.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Winchester Mystery House
On Saturday, we went to the Winchester Mystery House with some friends from work. If you're not familiar with WMH, it's the former home of Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester Rifle fortune; Mrs. Winchester had construction on the house continue 24/7 for 38 years to confuse and keep at bay the ghosts of everyone who had died from a Winchester rifle. More details at the Wikipedia article.
Friday, April 25, 2008
The Spoken Word Meets Written Word
I heard about Jott a couple months ago, in the Wall Street Journal, I think. It sounded interesting, but I didn't look closely into it – I wasn't looking for a voicemail solution. Then I saw this article on tying Jott and Sandy together over at My Money Blog earlier this week. (I'd heard of Sandy, too, from a colleague.) Jott transcribes your voice to an text, then Sandy parses the text and sends you reminders.
Each service is interesting in its own right. What I love is the way you can tie them together. (Synergy – the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.) I signed up with both services last night, and I've been playing with them today. It may be the newness, but it's surprisingly fun. For example, when I left work today, I called Jott from the car (using the bluetooth headset, of course), asked Sandy to remind me of two things I had to do this evening, updated my Twitter status, and posted the preceding entry. All without lifting a finger.
You can spot a few mistakes in the transcription:
I love it when a plan comes together. The information you need, when you need it, wherever you are. It's beautiful.I'm heading home. It's the weekend.
(Sandy also reminded me to finish my "statics" (status) report.)
There are a few mistakes, but it's close enough to get the intent. As a developer, I'm thinking about ways that this could be extended. (I'll let you know if I think of any.)
Monday, April 21, 2008
Go Afton!
Apparently a group in Afton, WY, (of all places) has followed Improv Everywhere's lead and froze the local supermarket.
Nicely done.
Nicely done.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Ad-Resistance
I came across this post on the Get Rich Slowly blog: How to Inoculate Your Kids Against Advertising
Somehow, I managed to learn this. I don't know if it was my parents, but I'm adding it to the list of things I want to teach my kids.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
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