jappler.com http://www.jappler.com random and opinionated thoughts by Jennifer Zelazny Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:19:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 en © jenz@mac.com () jenz@mac.com() 1440 random and opinionated thoughts by Jennifer Zelazny jenz@mac.com No no jappler.com http://www.jappler.com 144 144 Overheard While Getting My Tire Fixed… http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/10/09/overheard-while-getting-my-tire-fixed http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/10/09/overheard-while-getting-my-tire-fixed#comments Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:19:52 +0000 Jennifer Zelazny http://www.jappler.com/?p=959 Yesterday while I was at a certain repair shop (not the dealership) I overheard a conversation that blew me away. I was waiting to get my tire fixed (flat) and at the parts desk, I heard the following:

Guy 1: “Did you watch the rebate last night?”
Guy 2: “You mean the debate? I watched it and man John…(pausing because he cannot think of his last name)….”
Guy 1: “McCain”
Guy 2: Yes - man, I do not trust him…he lies so much. I think I even trust the other guy Osama more.

At that point - I decided to go into the waiting area instead of looking at floor mats so I could play some Scrabble on my iPhone.

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]]> http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/10/09/overheard-while-getting-my-tire-fixed/feed Nintendo Wii Speak Channel http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/10/06/nintendo-wii-speak-channel http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/10/06/nintendo-wii-speak-channel#comments Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:53:40 +0000 Jennifer Zelazny http://www.jappler.com/?p=954 The Wii is by far one of the coolest if not the coolest console I have ever owned. The one thing I do miss from my PS 2 days is the voice interaction I had while playing games. I just read about something really cool that will perhaps take care of my want for voice interaction:

This from the Nintendo news site:

The new Wii Speak Channel arrives on Nov. 16 and uses the Wii Speak, a microphone that sits on top of your television. This accessory is sold separately at an MSRP of $29.99. People who buy the microphone are given a code that allows them to download the Wii Speak Channel from the Wii Shop Channel at no charge. The Wii Speak lets people in up to four locations who have traded Friend Codes chat with one another at no extra cost. When you use Wii Speak in real time, your Mii appears on your TV screen and mimics your chat. You also can leave audio messages for your friends and family members or use Wii Speak to narrate captions for your photos.

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]]> http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/10/06/nintendo-wii-speak-channel/feed Generation Social http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/10/03/generation-social http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/10/03/generation-social#comments Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:54:02 +0000 Jennifer Zelazny http://www.jappler.com/?p=952 As a history major - I tend to look at everything and find trends, think about what historians will write about our time, and all kinds of fun things that drive Amy crazy. The other day while I was thinking about playing Super Mario 3 on my Wii, I thought about the definition of being social (”interactions between people”) and then thought that my son Evan’s generation will most likely view our generation as very unsocial. We wrote letters that took days to deliver, interacted with people very limitedly, played games by ourselves, and worked independently.

Our definition of communication has completely changed. When I thought about it, I went to college before cell phones were really popular. If you wanted to get in touch with someone it was by phone, email, or by the chance of meeting someone. No one had digital cameras so most of our college pictures are tucked away in a shoebox somewhere in one of our friend’s closets. We had the beginning of networked games, but our interaction there was limited to typing in “hi” or “Don’t go in the dungeon without me Ken!”.

Now - we have instant access to other people’s statuses and whereabouts by the second. SMS, email, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, cell phones, etc - people share what they are doing that moment, while other people can comment, look at your whereabouts, get notified the second any change has been made (RSS, etc), read about what you are doing/what you have done all in a community setting. People take photos and videos now and within seconds share the photos and video with family and friends…and even “strangers”. If you want to get ahold of someone - you can do so electronically and it is a good chance I will be talking to whomever I want within a matter of moments, not minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months.

The definition of face to face communication has also changed. The majority of us have high speed connections which allow us to chat via video so we can see our friends and family at any time, any place within seconds. No more waiting to see cousin x until our yearly trip to Germany. Same goes with business. Why have your office fly to somewhere to sit in a room with others while you could save money and time by doing business via video? Of course it is still nice to meet in person on occasion, but it is not always needed or the best solution.

Even gaming - all of my favorite games are highly interactive with my friends online. I cannot even tell you how many times I had to explain that I was a girl and not a 10 year old kid playing So Com II because we planned our attacks and defense using voice. I have friends online that I know I can play games with at almost any time…from scrabble to planning a sniper attack on the enemy.

On trips, I take photos with my iPhone and send them instantly to family members so they can see their grandson in his latest cute pose. Sharing no longer waits.

I look forward to talking to Evan about how he perceives me and my generation compared to what he knows and understands about the world. I am sure he will one day comment on how crazy it was to not have instant or almost instant access to everyone and everything.

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]]> http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/10/03/generation-social/feed Debugging IE 6 on a Mac http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/10/02/debugging-ie-6-on-a-mac http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/10/02/debugging-ie-6-on-a-mac#comments Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:01:02 +0000 Jennifer Zelazny http://www.jappler.com/?p=948 What is worse than debugging your web application for IE 6? Debugging your web application on IE 6 when you have a Mac and have to launch Windows…or wait, do you? If you do not want to run Parallels or something similar - check out ies4osx. It is dependent on Darwine so make sure you have that installed too. Ah…now I can debug a little more easily.

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]]> http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/10/02/debugging-ie-6-on-a-mac/feed Apple High http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/10/01/apple-high http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/10/01/apple-high#comments Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:06:38 +0000 Jennifer Zelazny http://www.jappler.com/?p=946 I have had an Apple high a few times in my life (the day my PowerBook 520, PowerMac 6500, B&W G3, G4 Cube, 2 Mac Minis, and a MacBook Pro arrived at my door) and I remember each one of them very vividly. Today - I had an unexpected Apple high…I had been having problems with my iPhone (bottom part of the screen was dead) for about a week and finally decided to make an appointment with the Apple Store Genius. I showed up, showed them the problem (with my out of warranty iPhone) - and just like that, I got a new iPhone at no cost. I fully expected to pay for a new one when I showed up and was more than thrilled when I walked away from the store with a brand new iPhone. Great customer service Apple!

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]]> http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/10/01/apple-high/feed Trip to the North Woods http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/09/29/trip-to-the-north-woods http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/09/29/trip-to-the-north-woods#comments Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:32:36 +0000 Jennifer Zelazny http://www.jappler.com/?p=944 I spent the weekend relaxing up in the North Woods of Wisconsin in St. Germain where the pace of life is much different than here in Chicago. We enjoyed time with some of our friends who went with us, the Beef-a-rama, and some very scenic drives. I wish I had my phone with me while checking into the hotel because there was a great sign behind the registration desk “Check-in is at 3pm. Don’t Even ask” (with a picture of a revolver before “Don’t even ask”. I loved it. I also learned the locals are not huge Illinois loves. They refer to us as “FIBs” (F***ing Illinois Bastards)…that was pleasant. But - for the most part we had a great time. I am kicking myself for not going fishing while I was there, but I will definitely be ready to spend some serious time on the lake next year. If you are looking for a great time - check out St. Germain. This is a great spot to relax and enjoy the simpler things in life.

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]]> http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/09/29/trip-to-the-north-woods/feed RoundCube Webmail Update http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/09/23/roundcube-webmail-update http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/09/23/roundcube-webmail-update#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:54:27 +0000 Jennifer Zelazny http://www.jappler.com/?p=942 I have been using Squirrelmail since the late 1990s and while it works and is dependable - the interface is still stuck in the 1990s. A year or so ago I looked at another webmail project: RoundCube Webmail but it was quire ready for primetime. The developers just released a new version which looks promising. If you are in need of a webmail solution - give it a shot.

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]]> http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/09/23/roundcube-webmail-update/feed My New Favorite HBO Show: Real Time with Bill Maher http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/09/22/my-new-favorite-hbo-show-real-time-with-bill-maher http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/09/22/my-new-favorite-hbo-show-real-time-with-bill-maher#comments Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:32:11 +0000 Jennifer Zelazny http://www.jappler.com/?p=939 I have been in a HBO slump for awhile now. The Wire and Sopranos are done. Curb Your Enthusiasm nor any other show I am really excited about is on…so I started to question why I was paying to get HBO. A few weeks ago I happened to catch Real Time with Bill Maher and really enjoyed it. I enjoy his humor, outlook on politics, and guests that really make for an interesting look at what is going on in politics today. I am sure Ken would pretty much hate him - but he does make an effort to bring both sides to the table. Anyway - that is what I have been enjoying on HBO lately.

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]]> http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/09/22/my-new-favorite-hbo-show-real-time-with-bill-maher/feed Uncheck Checkbox Values http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/09/18/uncheck-checkbox-values http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/09/18/uncheck-checkbox-values#comments Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:05:10 +0000 Jennifer Zelazny http://www.jappler.com/?p=937 I recently ran into a situation with a custom form where users had a number of checkboxes where the values were saved upon submit. When they went back through the form to make changes, if they unchecked something that was already checked and submitted the form again, the checkbox value would not change (not empty). The solution (thanks to Demitrious for finding this!) was simple.

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]]> http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/09/18/uncheck-checkbox-values/feed Whoa - That is a lot of Water… http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/09/15/whoa-that-is-a-lot-of-water http://www.jappler.com/blog/archive/2008/09/15/whoa-that-is-a-lot-of-water#comments Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:41:45 +0000 Jennifer Zelazny http://www.jappler.com/?p=924 Over the weekend, we got hammered with rain here in the Chicagoland area. About four years ago - when I lived in Des Plaines IL - I had the joyous opportunity of sandbagging around the perimeter of our condo before the big flood. On Saturday, we jumped in the Land Rover and headed to see what kind of shape our old place looked like (Des Plaines got over 7″ of rain on Saturday alone). I was completely shocked to see that there was much more water from the rain and the river than when we sandbagged.

Check out some of the pictures taken with my phone while we were in the old neighborhood.

The wake as we droveFun drivingIdiot turing out of McDonaldsRiver RoadEvan checking out the water

More information: News article on the flood

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