Modifications are so tempting

I would love to have the skills, tools, time, and space to do some of the device modifications I see out there. I have come across a particularly impressive modder, ZapWizard, via the Makezine Blog. I was first drawn to his redwood computer case mod but has since followed the bread crumbs to his other projects.



The iPod and the Redwood PC are both beautiful and it is obvious he possesses more than just an interest; he is quite talented.

For now I will just hold on to the notion that maybe I COULD create something so beautiful if I lived under more ideal conditions. Cats are not particularly helpful when it comes to long term projects such as these.

>^..^<

I think my next little electronics project will be to send my DVR programs wirelessly to my bedroom tv though.

NAMI Walk

On April 15th I will be participating in a 5K walk to raise money for San Diego County NAMI. This organization provides education, support and advocacy for people coping with mental illness. They also work to raise public awareness and understanding for this huge population subset.

We all seem to know at least one person who is dealing with a major mental illness and if you would like to support a great cause, please visit my walk page to donate whatever amount you feel comfortable offering. Thanks.

www.nami.org/namiwalks06/SDC/timbrely

Geometry in Glass

My father has made some amazing leaded glass sculptures and when I get a chance I will see about getting photos of his work, but I found a reference on Makezine's site to another artist doing similar, but different, work. Hans Schepker makes and teaches how to make some amazing objects. His calendar of classes is out of date, so I don't know if he is still teaching, but the photos on his site are beautiful.

Audible.com ROCKS

The Internet is so often a forum for spreading warnings, but today, I am spreading kudos. Audible.com is such an awesome site. First off, I love listening to audiobooks while I drive to and from work. Secondly, audiobooks are expensive to buy on CD or cassette. Thirdly, I have an iPod. Why would I risk melting my investments by keeping CDs in my car? CDs get scratched and then where are you? A partial story is not much fun; (yeah, yeah, I can transfer CDs onto my iPod and store the CDs somewhere safe, but why when I can skip a lengthy step and just download and import onto the iPod? And if anything happens to my iPod or my computer, I can re-download the books anytime I need to.

No one is perfect. We all are OK with that fact. What matters is not making the mistake, but how we handle the mistake.

Audible made a billing error. I discovered this at 3am. Obviously they are "closed" at 3am. I mean, the site is up, but the office is closed. I sent off the message to customer support so they would get it in the morning.

Then I proceeded to cruise around their site looking for the next book I wanted to get. As I switched from page to page I started noticing my account was being fixed already. It had been less than ten minutes since I had sent in the cry for help!! Audible.com is not a small mom and pop shop. This is a big organization, and yet I got incredible service.

I whole-heartedly recommend audible.com to anyone. And they'll even let you try them for free!