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Facebook Scrabble Fail
In The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman asks whether our political systems have adjusted to the flattening of the world. If Facebook is a microcosm of our world, the answer is a resounding no. Take Scrabble, for instance. On Facebook, Electronic Arts and GameHouse offer two versions of Scrabble: Scrabble and Scrabble Worldwide. Like the…
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Volvo Minivan
Has Volvo, the premier family car manufacturer, lost its way? Even though Ford now owns this Swedish company, I somehow suspect that Volvo isn’t building cars targeted at the American market, hence its late arrival in the SUV market. Still, for families with children, which I think is Volvo’s core market, nothing beats the convenience…
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Apple iPhone Biometric Security
AppleInsider reports that Apple is developing biometric-based security features for the iPhone and Mac. While the concept sounds promising, I cannot help but think of how their current facial recognition efforts in iPhoto consistently triggers false positives.
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Bad Housing Market
Last week, I heard someone complain that the housing market was “bad.” Well, when housing appreciated 10-20% per year, I heard other people complain that the market was “ridiculous.” The truth is that the housing market has never been healthier. Now that the recession has washed away a lot of the speculative excess, housing is…
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Lissy’s Friends by Grace Lin
I recently finished reading Lissy’s Friends by Grace Lin. Lissy’s Friends is a wonderful children’s book that describes how one Chinese girl handles the awkwardness of being the new kid in school. At first, she has difficulty making friends and turns to her origami animals for companionship. Later, she shares her origami creations with the…
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Pump Up the Volume in the Morning
The next time you fill-up, take a look at some of the warning labels affixed to the gasoline pump. I saw the above label recently while purchasing gas from Costco. This device dispenses gasoline solely by volume measured in standard gallons (231 cubic inches). It does not adjust for temperature or other factors which may…
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Recession Special
Could really have used a polarizing filter to cut down the reflection in the window. Anyways, I spotted this sign in the window of a Thai restaurant in Millbrae over the weekend. Special Lunch Dishes Today For Those People Who Are Unemployed.Any noodle dish with your choice of chicken, pork, beef or veggi $5.50 On…
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VMWare Fusion, Windows Vista and the Black Screen of Death
I’ve been using VMWare Fusion and Windows Vista for quite some time now. Usually, I’ll quit Fusion after I have completed my task to free up all the memory it has tied up. However, this past weekend, I had to use Vista for quite a few hours. When I opened my MacBook Pro this morning,…
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Wine Library TV
I’ve heard about Wine Library TV a while ago, but never visited the website because I’m not a wine drinker. However, I finally saw an episode tonight and found it to be absolutely entertaining and hilarious. Jim Cramer of Mad Money appears on Wine Library TV. Gary Vaynerchuk reviews “2 Buck Chuck” from Trader Joe’s.…
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VMWare Fusion Update: Print Spooler Warning
I recently upgraded to VMWare Fusion 2.0.2. It was an uneventful upgrade until I tried to install the latest version of VMWare Tools. Basically, it was all going so well until I got this error message: “Some files that need to be updated are currently in use.” Fun. The last thing I want to figure…