Multitasking

There's a new gadget here at Meanwhile Manor and it has made me very happy indeed. It allows me to do two of my most favorite things simultaneously.

When the sun goes down and the grrllzz have been fed, watered, brushed, and whatever other [___]-ed that requires attention, I don my feety pajamas and head off to bed. This is Thing One. I love sleeping.

Thing Two involves numbers: collecting, sorting, graphing, analyzing, describing, drooling, etc.I love random data collection. I bought a pedometer to count the number of steps up the hill. I carried a GPS to collect data on altitude change, heading, and more. I write down my gas fill-ups religiously. The problem with all the sources of those types of data is that I have to be awake to experience them. Not so with my new gadget: a SleepTracker watch. It tracks my sleeping and sets off the alarm when I am at an optimum place in my sleep cycle.

The data collection is a total perk. I got this watch in order to combat the six months of overcast skies here in the Northwet. After the clocks get turned back and darkness rolls in around 4 pm, I have the darnedest time waking up in the morning. This is not conducive with morning classes. So I figured this watch might help.

And then I discovered the data review mode. Heaven. It records each time I am at an almost awake moment, before I start to drift back down into the inkier depths. If an almost awake moment coincides with the alarm time, then I should awake most refreshed. My breakfast time just got a wee bit more exciting. I've got my oatmeal and my sleep data.

I've only had it a week and two of those days were a weekend when my sleep schedule is totally whacked. My jury is still out on the effectiveness of this gadget but I'm loving the data in the morning.

Always thinking of my peeps

In my ongoing efforts to maintain a modicum of respect amongst my friends the fashionistas, I offer up the following link.

That is all.

While I'm away....

I'm off to a 3-day workshop that's going to get another gadget in my hands. bwa-ha-ha I am so excited. I will do (almost) anything to acquire a new toy. Currently in my drawer I have four Palm PDAs, three iPods, a GPS unit, a Mac iBook and G3 lappie, as well as a G3 and G5 desktop computer. I also have three graphing calculators, an old school mechanical calculator, an abacus, and four slide rules. Don't argue with me that a slide rule is not a gadget. Any item that comes with a manual that consists of bound pages rather that just stapled sheets has got to be a gadget.

Anyway, the goody I will acquire this week is a new TI-Nspire. How can you not drool when you see this thing? It can do so much that it comes with two keyboards! This bi-faceplate issue is the driving force behind the workshop. Me thinks this gadget has a big brain and if I tried to figure it out on my own I would only scrape the surface—and probably not very much of it. I can't wait to see what tricks this thing can do.


While I'm away, I thought I would leave you with an online game to help fill up your time. I will introduce it to you the same way it was introduced to me: with no directions on how to play. Please give it a whirl and see how many attempts you need to figure it out. The link I have is for a site that reviews games so the writer does give some clues about how to play as he explains what he likes about the game. If you want to try it with no foreknowledge, click the link and play Gimme Friction Baby before you read the whole review. The game designer said he thought adding directions would take away from the simplicity of the game and they are not really needed anyhow. It is a casual game, so no time limits or pressure to kill or be killed. I've lost hours of my life to this game and my high score is only 29 while my average is in the very low single digits. Have a good time.

In the background while I type this is a podcast of A Way With Words. Yes, we digit-heads love words too and this public radio show is a hoot. The focus is words and language and etymology and puns and grammar. I mention it now for two reasons. The first is that I do not think a lot of affiliates have picked it up yet and, besides the four podcasters that listen, everyone who calls in is from San Diego or Wisconsin. I'm trying to expand the listenership. The second reason I mention it is that as I'm trying to concentrate on typing, a few phrases made it through to my gray matter:
Books never crash. And you can use them in the tub.
I was wondering if they were metrosexual, but didn't know if I was allowed to say that on the radio.
The Macaroni Club—completely metrosexual. With lots of product in their hair.

OK, so it may sound like they drifted from the topic there but they were on task. The lyrics to Yankee Doodle were under analysis. I'll leave the rest for you to think about. I was actually a caller on this show once and if you want to know why "a whole nother" sounds more legitimate than it looks, post a question.

Look what the lint trap snagged today

Just consider me an internet filter feeder, catching all the stuff that might float by otherwise.


Speaking of filter feeders, there's a life size whale caught on the 'net. Complete with sound—and it's not the hokey Partridge Family soundtrack! And yes, your monitor is large enough to show you the whole thing.



Does it bother you when none of the digital clocks in the house agree? Which one is correct when the microwave says 8:05, the coffee maker 8:09, the PDA 8:03, and the car 7:59? Well, swing the time increment pendulum back in the other direction. Ask not what time is it? Rather, ask what day is it?

via Popgadget



Had enough of the rat race? Want to escape from the world, maybe slip into your cave with nothing but a good book? We no longer have to make forts by slinging a bedsheet over the desk, sidetable, and bed.
via knufflebunnah

And we've saved the best for last.

All you fitness folks worried about what a bit of bouncing does to your breasts should click here. Choose your level of activity and cup size and sit back to discover a very good use for digital animation. It's called the bounce-ometer. I don't recall where that falls on the scale: millimeter, kilometer, bounceometer?