Tech-nique -- This blog is for technology. I love technology, and my friends and family know it. You will too once you read a few postings.

Think -- This blog is my life. My life is just a collection of stories, some funny, some not. I will be documenting parts of my life's journal here.

Ink -- This blog is my soul. I am such a romantic. My literary gold will be oozing from this blog. I invite you to critique my work. Good or bad, I'll use it.

Cook -- This blog is my hunger. I've spent a lot of time perfecting my favorite recipes, and now it's time to share them along with my tried and true methods in the kitchen.

Have a cool summer!

Filed under: Think — JaggedPen On November 30, 2008 @ 10:08 pm

Well, it’s been a ride, and I learned a lot. Thirty days, four days no post. Donated a little money to charity. Now, I will reward myself by just saying thanks to everyone that read a few posts. My Twitter post was even bookmarked on a social site!

I don’t know what’s next, but I will be posting more in the future. Plus, I’ll be doing to NaBloPoMo thing again come February.

Ta-Ta for now!

5 Reasons To Jailbreak Your iPhone

Filed under: Tech-nique — JaggedPen On November 29, 2008 @ 11:15 pm

I did it. I totally voided the warranty and jailbroke my iPhone. This means I can download and install applications that aren’t authorized by Apple. Why would I do this?

Backgrounder - When you start a program on the iPhone, you are pretty much stuck with that program until you are done with it. Once you press the home key, it”ll stop the program and reset the session. Backgrounder lets the program run in the background, so you can switch between programs without losing their sessions.

WinterBoard - This program allows you to tweak the look in feel of the iPhone. Change the look of the icons, the background, and also the sound. Give the iPhone a little personal touch.

Cycoder - This application changes the still camera of the iPhone into a video camera. It captures the video and sound on to the iPhone so that it can be downloaded for YouTube upload.

Qik - Qik does the same to the iPhone camera, but instead of saving the video on the iPhone, the video is streamed live to the Qik website. There, other’s can see your live event. Life casting here we come. Rumor has it this will be released legally to the App Store soon.

Openssh - Openssh puts a Secure Shell client and server on you iPhone. What? Well, for those that don’t know secure shell, it’s a way to connect, command and copy assets (files) to/from the iPhone over a encrypted channel. I.e., copy those files to you computer made by Cycorder. Making the iPhone an accessible storage drive.

Now, how does one jailbreak the iPhone? Go here. This is the tool I use.

iPod Check #3

Filed under: iPod Check — JaggedPen On November 28, 2008 @ 11:28 pm

Sorry I missed last Thursday, and another apology for moving this iPod Check to Friday.

First up is Dannii Minogue. Who?!?! It’s Kylie Minogue’s sister. She has a lot of sounds going on in the club scene. I heard about her from one of my favorite internet radio sites XRM Radio.

I heard this song on the movie Real Genius. I fell in love with the song due to the fact that the movie parallels my life. Boy genius not accepted into normal society, must stop a egotistical professor from building the ultimate in laser warfare. Ahh, good times…

For those who hate country, leave now. It’s not quite, but close to it. Alison Krauss is awesome. Her original style brings my home every time. If you ever wanted to swing over to country music for a bit, she is a great place to start. Are you surprised I like this crap? I like it all.

Even Steven On TGD.

Filed under: Think — JaggedPen On November 27, 2008 @ 10:06 pm

Thankful for…

Not: My acid reflux.
Am: $4 Zantac at Walgreens

Not: The current economy.
Am: My job.

Not: The cold.
Am: Enjoying a warm Dr. Pepper, with a slice of lemon.

Not: WordPress‘ constant upgrade request.
AM: Not publishing the whole site at each post.

Not: The 1,000 mph bus going down my street every 15 minutes.
Am: My apartment that is close to every thing cool.

In these trying times, I tend to break even.

Old Time-y Potato Bread Stuffing

Filed under: Cook — JaggedPen On November 26, 2008 @ 9:22 am

Another traditional Thanksgiving dish.

Number of happy eaters: 6

What you need:

  • 6 medium potatoes
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 4 slices whole-grain bread
  • 1 cup onion
  • 1 cup celery
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley
  • 2 tsp Mrs. Dash
  • Salt and pepper to taste

What you do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cook, peel and mash those taters. Mash them up with 1/2 cup of the milk.

Dice the bread into little squares, place them in a bowl with the rest of the milk, let soak.

Chop up the onion and celery, put them in a skillet with some oil. Saute over low heat until onion is brown and celery is tender.

Combine the onion and celery with the potatoes. Stir in bread, parsley (chop it first) and Mrs. Dash. Salt and pepper it.

Pour the whole mass into an oiled baking pan, bake it for 60 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the top is brown.

Serve with butter, and enjoy!

Wine Glazed Brussels Sprouts

Filed under: Cook — JaggedPen On November 25, 2008 @ 4:24 pm

This is a recipe I tried last X-mas, and it went over with grand reviews.

What you need:

2 lbs Brussels sprouts
1/2 cup red wine
4 tbsp honey
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

What you do:

Cut the stems off the Brussels sprouts and cut a slit into the base of the sprout, about 1/4 inch deep.

Mix the wine, honey, and soy sauce together, then mix that with 1/2 cup of water. Now, stir that with the sprouts and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Uncover and stir every so often for 10 more minutes.

Add some water to the cornstarch, then quickly stir that with the sprouts for five minutes. Remove from heat.

Enjoy!

Where is my flying ride?

Filed under: Tech-nique — JaggedPen On November 24, 2008 @ 4:35 pm

When I was younger I had a book that instructed me on how to draw cars in 3D. I’m horrible at drawing, so it didn’t help.

The last section of the book talked about the cars of the future. How at the turn of the millennium, our cars would have the power of flight.

The world’s skies would be full of cars powered by jet engines, and the roads would be just landing strips to the destination. The picture in the book showed floating traffic lights, floating traffic signs and happy motorists riding in floating cars like this:

Ugly, but freaking cool!

Cars that owned the road at the time looked more like this:

So, here it is 2008, almost 2009, and I have been waiting over three decades for a flying car. At this point, I expect to look up and have the sunlight interrupted by undercarriages involved in sky-ly traffic jams.

Instead, I see these vehicles rule the sky road:

Helping Hands of Yellow

Filed under: Think — JaggedPen On November 23, 2008 @ 10:40 pm

In October of ‘95, I had to under go a back operation. The odds weren’t in my favor for a 100% guarantee that the operation would be a success, but for me to live a better life the operation was a must. I went under the knife for about 12 hours. Two Doctors took shifts adjusting my back and fusing a couple of bones against my spine. The operation turned out well, with a few minor complications, but the hardest part had to be the two weeks after.

I was stuck in a hospital with little communication to the outside world. My home was about 100 miles from the facility, so my parents took shelter in a local Ronlad McDonald House (RMDH). There they were able to come to the hospital at anytime to check on my progress. When one parent decided to spend the night in the uncomfortable chair next to my bed, the other went to the RMDH and got a relatively good night’s sleep. The RMDH made a trying time easier to accept, and allowed my family to support me during my hospital stay.

My first donation goes to them as a thank you for what they do for families that need assistance. Without them, families wouldn’t be able to ease their minds and focus on the loved ones that need attention.

Top Five Things I need Google To Do

Filed under: Tech-nique — JaggedPen On November 21, 2008 @ 11:03 pm

Google, you know I’m pro-G. If you made clothes, I’d wear your gear. Why tease and provideĀ  some features in the basic site, but not apps? You don’t have what I would consider vital to Google production.

Here they are:

5. Contact syncing for Google with Windows Mobile

- I know I have a meeting, but with who? Come on, I need my peeps!

4. iGoogle for apps.

- iGoogle looks so nice with all those widgets. My custom start page for chunk-o-cheese.com is so dry.

3. Themes on Gmail for Google Apps

- Have you seen the new Gmail themes? Again, why no love for the app people who have embraced Google?

2. Reader for Google Apps

- I use my apps to centralize my life. Reading content online is part of that. Be nice to not have two logins to achieve that task.

1. Editable Docs on Google Docs

- Now you can add one doc and edit it with the mobile device, but proper collaboration with documentation still needs the desktop. Go ahead, bind me to that damn machine!

Dear Google,

I’ve been there from day one. From the two page search (even when one of them was goggle.com) to the search citadel you are now. You’ve never asked for my love, but now you are going to need to earn your right to control what is dearest to me, my domain.

XOXOXO,

JaggedPen

007 Story #1

Filed under: Think — JaggedPen On November 19, 2008 @ 10:00 pm

In 1985 Roger Moore (look at those Knightly man boobs!) left the role of James Bond, and Broccoli inc was looking for a new 007. Pierce Bosnan’s career as Remington Steele ended roughly at the same time. It was a perfect chance to approached Brosnan to take the helm in the next Bond film. Unfortunately, Brosnan’s contract with NBC was still active and needed to be fulfilled. Shortly after Pierce turned down the role, he made a deal with Coca-Cola to make a couple of Diet Coke commercials were he played, you guessed it, a secret agent.

Many rumors were circulating at the time.

Pierce turned down the role to take care of his sick/dying wife. Not True.

Pierce made the commercials thinking he was going to be the next Bond, but was denied for the more lovable Timothy Dalton. Wrong Again.

Phew! Good to clear the air on that one!