Jack’s Old & Busted Blog

(SlowWave.com): Slow Wave is a collective dream diary authored by different people from around the world, and drawn as a comic strip by Jesse Reklaw.

(via rivets) This is so like dreams really are!

I attended a company-sponsored all-day Franklin-Covey seminar today. The discussions about prioritizing and time management were useful, but it was pitiously quaint how F-C wants to marginalize the PDA user. Of course, they have to make money selling you planners, refills, planner accessories, and more training on how to use them. I still use a paper planner occasionally when I have to scratch something down in a hurry, but my Palm is quickly becoming the hub of my scheduled existence, especially since I have a new peecee on my desk that allows full Outlook/Palm synchy-goodness. I can’t see the next generation using paper planners at all, especially as the need to synch and interact with others’ schedules becomes easier and more important. The only real nod to technology was an Outlook “add-on” that mimics some of the features in the paper planner. The software, unlike the planner, wasn’t free, and it does’t work with a Mac.

The best thing I learned at the seminar: Turn your email notification noise OFF. I’m always getting sidetracked when I’m in the middle of a project and I hear Outlook barking about a new message. Checking your email at certain points during the day makes total sense. Then you’ll get those stupid phone calls asking, “Did you read the email I sent you?” Turn the ringer off, too, I guess.

The Fayetteville Public Library (website) has an Automotive Repair Center catalog that contains complete repair information for most major makes and models dating as far back as 1954. The really cool thing is that the catalog also contains the full text of recalls and, more importantly, technical service bulletins. Less-scrupulous shops will “forget” to check TSBs for a problem on your car so they can charge you full price, even though they may have fixed the same noise on hundreds of jalopies ike yours. Even if your car is out of warranty, the dealer will ususually cut you a break on these kinds of problems, often at the behest of the manufacturer.

I’m beta-testing Google’s new Gmail product. So far, it’s the bees knees as far as web-based email. I’ve used yahoo forever as my backup, spamtrap account, and I’m considering switching. All the hoopla about Google “reading” your mail and delivering tailored advertising to your interests is way overblown, IMO. The folks at Google have way better things to do than personally read my email; they read my brainwaves, for example, and tell me I forgot to unplug the iron.

An old friend’s wife is recovering from brain surgery. If you have any gothic/horror/scary-clown/art needs, send ‘em his way.

(SinisterVisions.com): I’ve had a couple of people tell me they haven’t requested work/quotes from Sinister Visions for fear that I can’t deal with such things right now. I assure you this is not the case. SV is VERY open for business and waiting to assist you with your next graphic project!

(ElmiraStoveWorks.com) :Whether you’re looking for the warmth and elegance of the nineteenth century, or the fun, funky look of the “Fab Fifties”, Elmira has vintage-styled appliances to suit your tastes, décor and cooking style. And you won’t have to sacrifice convenience or performance. . .

I have a friend who buys and restores antique stoves. He swears the gas stoves from the ’40s and ’50s put out more BTUs than the current consumer models. Having seen one of these blast furnaces in action, I don’t dispute his opinion, but they did have a lot of asbestos available back then, too.

(enterprisemission.com): Using Opportunity’s microscopic imager and grinder, a detailed survey of this object could have been performed. A controlled deconstruction of this fossil candidate could have been ordered with multiple targeted grindings planned by trained biologists and paleontologists. Each grinding could have been closely inspected by Opportunity’s microscopic imager and analyzed by biologists and paleontologists the world over. Instead, the fossil candidate was destroyed in one fell swoop.

How would the discovery of past/present life on Mars change your view of the universe?