If anyone reading this has an induction stove, I would appreciate an unbiased opinion on how you like it. We’re looking to upgrade the existing one in our new house, and thought gas was the way to go. But the newest trend is induction cooking, which uses some form of magnets to generate heat directly into the bowl. Sounds pretty Star Trek to me, but so did microwave ovens when I first heard of them back in the seventies.
Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category
Induction Stoves
Monday, September 6th, 2010Glympse
Friday, September 3rd, 2010Want to know where your kids are? I’ve been experimenting with a new program called Glympse, which is based on Microsoft’s Bing. It’s easy to use, and it’s free. All you need is a smart phone. Go to www.glympse.com
Want To Go to the Moon with Your Kids?
Thursday, September 2nd, 2010Go to www.MoonZoo.org
Sold in 7 Days
Friday, August 27th, 2010After I spoke at a conference of presidents of Chambers of Commerce in Lafayette, Indiana yesterday, my beautiful bride and I spent the night in Muncie with my father-in-law. While he was driving us to Indianapolis to do a little shopping today, I got a phone call from our realtor in Nashville, who just received a contract on our old house, for full asking price, one week after we listed it ( the same day USA Today ran a story about how no one is buying houses). We needed to find a Kinko’s, so my father-in-law used OnStar in his new Cadillac to navigate us to one, which was only 4 miles away in the Indy suburb of Fishers. The realtor faxed the contract there, I signed it, Kinko’s scanned it in, we then emailed it back to him, and continued on with our shopping. It is truly amazing how easy technology has made our lives.
The Heart of a Teacher
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010A special thank you goes out today to Nick Coury at Dury’s photo supply house in Nashville. Instead of just directing me to the blue and orange color gels I asked for when I was in his store, he took time to ask what I was shooting. When I explained that we were setting up a new video studio to replace the one destroyed by the flood, and I needed to warm up the flesh tones, he took time to explain the technicalities of how ½ Blue CTB color correction lighting filters convert tungsten to daylight, ¼ CTO Orange, and many other terms new to me.
I would have bought anything he recommended, because he’s such a great salesman. Not because of his selling skills, but because he has what Dave Ramsey calls the greatest asset for any sales professional – the heart of a teacher.
No surprise, he had just finished a similar conversation with Ray Stevens’ videographer.
Identity Theft Tip
Sunday, August 8th, 2010According to Kim Komando, ½ of all PC attacks come through PDF’s. The solution is as simple as updating Adobe Acrobat Reader on your PC.
Aftermath of the Nashville Flood: “What Happened to Firewire?”
Friday, July 30th, 2010
Here’s another example of a technology issue I never saw coming. Prior to the flood, we were using high level consumer grade video cameras, purchased off the shelf from Circuit City and CompUSA, to record straight to hard drives for editing. They connected by IEEE 1394 cable (“Firewire”) that allows audio and video to be streamed without any degradation of the signal. Circuit City and CompUSA are both out of business now, so when I went to buy a new camera to replace one of the two that were lost in the flood, I learned that no retail stores in Nashville carry video cameras with Firewire jacks any more. The sales rep at Best Buy assured me that a USB cable would do the same.
But after I returned with the new camcorder he sold me, I discovered that AVCHD camcorders cannot stream compressed video in real-time like an HDV camera can. So we ordered an HDV camera from B&H Photo on New York City, with a Firewire jack and external mic jack, and now have a non-returnable AVCHD camcorder I have absolutely no use for. Anybody know of a good charity that shoots lots of video?
Kindle
Monday, April 26th, 2010
If anyone reading this owns a Kindle, I’d appreciate your opinion on it, and specifically which model you’d recommend. I wasn’t too keen on the idea of Kindle when it first came out. As the author of six books, I just prefer traditional paperbacks. Plus, the idea of carrying yet another electronic device with my extensive travel schedule was not appealing.
But the hassle of carrying multiple books in my in my briefcase is also not so practical, and it finally dawned on me that one advantage of Kindle is that it would allow me to carry multiple books in one device.
Thanks in advance for your input.
Free Websites for NonProfits
Saturday, April 10th, 2010If you have a non-profit that needs volunteers or to raise money online, here are two websites that can get you going fast: www.Good2Gether.com and www.JustGive.org
Will Americans Actually Buy an Electric Car?
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
The Chevy Volt
The first Chevrolet Volt rolls off the assembly line in Michigan today. While I hope electric cars take off and reduce our dependency on foreign oil, I don’t think most Americans are ready to give up their horsepower and freedom for a car that only goes 100 miles per charge. I hope GM is right and I’m wrong, because the last thing GM needs is to lose more money. Only time – and the free market – will tell.