Geek Gather – 11.14.06

Here is the date and time for the next Geek Gather. Actually, it is the same place as the last time. The change is that I have decided to try to move it to every 2nd Tueday of the month because Michael has a commitment that falls on first Tuesdays. Here are the details:

Place: Dunn Bros. – 821 W. Lake St., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55408

Date: November 14, 2006

Time: 6:30pm or as soon as you can get there.

This seemed to work OK last time. I still think this is a fairly central location for everyone as it is in the heart of the Lyn-Lake neighborhood across from Bryant-Lake Bowl. They have free wifi. A nice big fireplace surrounded by comfy chairs. A good set of tables and (when they are available – lots of laptop users here) available power outlets. Oh, and caffine! Hope everyone can make it.

Here is a theme if you want one: Bring a cool gadget if you have one to show off. I know I need to get peoples advice on Bluetooth headphones for instance. I would love to see what others have. I know Michael has the new “Crackberry” phone… You get the idea.

Seeking a PHP Programmer

Hi Geeks,

Great Clips is seeking a PHP Programmer for some short-term (2-3 months) project work. We want someone who has a strong background in PHP and would prefer that this individual have a mysql background as well.

Feel free to pass this information on to other individuals or groups you may belong to. You can send resumes to my supervisor kathy.wetzelATgreatclips.com or you can send them to me directly if you are more comfortable with that.  My email address is tim.grosshueschATgreatclips.com.  Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Trademark Torture

Oh Apple, why are you taking your pod away from us? What will happen to Scottie’s Podcast? What will happen to these guys? Once more, the ONION predicts the future:

Apple Computers is laying legal claim to the term “pod,” used in words like “podcast.” Here are some other items Apple is trying to claim as its own:

  • Human silhouettes
  • Several thousand Chinese children
  • Thinking differently
  • The last slice of pizza
  • The term “tunes”
  • Any Granny Smith with a bite taken out of it
  • The concept of sharing
  • The pronoun “I”; Effective immediately Apple will collect royalties from anyone referring to oneself in this manner

Visualizing Energy Consumption

I pull in the rss feed for information aesthetics and they often have some cool stuff. This entry has some cool examples of home…uh…items that help visualize energy consumption. For example, a radio that untunes itself when many appliances are consuming energy at the same time, or bathroom tiles that change color/pattern depending on how much hot water has hit them.

These are all ways to increase the awareness of power consumption. Industry in general has worked very hard to make power consuming devices quiet and unobtrusive. Maybe it’s time to selectively make their power consumption obtrusive, but in an elegant way of course.