Rusharound

Maybe you hipsters already knew about this, but I’m just now joining the Netflix “Instant Watch” party.

Here’s the deal. No additional costs. No penalties against videos sent by mail. Just the simple but oh-so-lovable ability to stream a bunch of high quality movies just seconds after choosing them. It’s the best thing Netflix has done since its launch. This is a really big deal.

The first video I fired up was surf flick Billabong Odyssey. And I forecast I’ll have taken in Motorcycle Diaires before too long.

Oh, and for those of you on a Mac, you’ll need to fire up Parallels, Bootcamp or your friends’ work computer because Instant Watch requires a PC.

Today I’m emailing with my mom and I happen to notice this little lovely in the right margin of my gmail account. Somehow Gmail thinks I’m in the market for Hello Kitty Underwear?

With more than 16,000 of my emails stored in its enormous Gbrain, Gmail should know me better by now. I mean, really.

GMail + Google Reader. …“These are a few of my fave-oh-rit-thinggggs” So you already know that I’m ga ga for gmail and I get my RSS news from Google Reader. Well some smart scripter has joined these two Googllicious forces with the Gmail + Reader Integrator, available (Free-God-Bless-The-Internets) from Userscripts.org.

Huh? you say? It’s like this. What if your email screen also told you everything you wanted to know about the world of finance, start ups, and even what your niece and nephew were doing — in full color, and without clogging your inbox? That’s what this little gem does. If anyone wants help shifting to Gmail and some of the techie love it gives out for free you just let me know (Mom? Dad?). In addition to proselytizing for free, I also offer technical support.

(And if you are snoopy enough to click on that image above, you’ll notice that my to-do list is also on that same screen – remind me to tell you about Remember The Milk.)

Offshoring is now officially bad for my self-esteem.

Some of you may know my obsession with text dictation systems for voicemail and other things. Well the latter service allows me to phone in things that belong on my to-do list. It usually does a passable job and even when it messes up, its good enough to remind me what I meant.

But the recent misunderstanding took it a little far. …I mean, my failing resumé?

Move over sliced bread. I recently discovered an awesome product for anyone who loves whiteboards, instant dining room flow charts, or suburban wanna-be graffiti artists. Avery Write-On Cling Sheets are like instant white boards that go on any wall or window you choose. They stay put by static alone (1 week and counting without slippage), and I think I am in planning love.

Want a roll of your own? $25 buys a roll of 36 (reusable!) sheets at Amazon.com.

(just remind me to keep Evan away from them.)

Imagine my surprise while doing my regular (g)mailing when I saw this little advertisement in the right margin. There’s a lot of comedy in there, but I confess that I don’t know where to start.

(I really want to know what in my email made Gmail think this ad would appeal to me…)

Great news — the scooter is back in Cambridge! Last month I made a bunch of silly little fliers and left them in my neighbors’ mailboxes. Along the way I met a guy named Primo who insisted on introducing me to the neighborhood’s old timers. Thank you Primo! (He used to have a Vespa just like mine, so he was particularly helpful and energetic.)

A couple of days later I got a call from a guy who offered to rent part of his mother’s garage to me. The rest is history – kind of like the cool license plate I found on eBay and now denotes my bike’s approximate age. (It’s actually a 1962, but Massachusetts didn’t make new plates every year in the 60’s.)

See ya ’round!

Hello friends. I’m taking a short break from my fascinating exam cram sessions to help set the record straight on corn-based ethanol. If you own a TV or radio, you know that ethanol has been taking it on the chin recently, taking the rap for increases in just about every commodity price out there. (Or at least every commodity that provides energy to humans and their mechanical offspring.)

All the connections between corn, fuel and grain get a little confusing confusing. Luckily, there’s Steven Colbert who straightens it all out — after the jump

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