Simplify Media available in the App Store now, allowing streaming of iTunes music library to your iPhone. The official app has album art, lyrics and artist bios and works over EDGE, 3G and Wi-FI.
It's free for the first 100k downloaders:
http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284941327&mt=8
I got an email last night from Cam.
> From: mlandon@fakeemail.com
> To: kreeves@fakeemail.com
> Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:51:33 +0000
> Subject: olympics
>
> We all agree - you look like the swimmer Vanderkay (sp?)... Congrats on the medal tonight!
There are a couple mysteries here:
1) Who is the "we" in reference?
Whoever it is, there's apparently some critical mass. My receipt of the communication must have been an action item outcome from a board meeting. OR, he means he and his wife, Krys, and their new(ish) baby, Campbell.
Either way, I have to take this seriously.
2) Why do I naturally object to comparisons like this?
I think it comes down to a simple but powerful term: terminal uniqueness. I think this originated in the 12-step circles but the concept is universal. As we go through life, we feel that our situation is completely different than everyone else, that no one else could possible understand what it's like to walk in my shoes. Terminal comes into play because it holds you back. I'd go as far as to say that there's an even smarter implicit concept at play as the single most un-unique characteristic of life is that it will end, regardless of what you do.
I came to grips with my own ununiqueness some time ago. Just as Google helped to teach me how to eliminate rust from a stainless steel kitchen sink, it has also tought me that someone, somewhere has already had that completely insane thought, totally weird idea for a product and even better, provided an answer to the question I didn't ask.
And, there's something absolutely comforting about that. I'm happy to take the ego hit, to know that I'm not alone.
Oh, here's a shot of Peter Vanderkaay.
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There are all kinds of minor revelations from growing up. Maybe "realizations" is a better term. There are lots of things that I should know but don't. I'm not sure how exactly this happened to me. Maybe it's the fragmentation of attention spans, relationships, families. That's another discussion. How did I make it to 25 without knowing how to tie a tie?
Thankfully, I have the Internet. And more specifically, Google. And now an iPhone so Google goes wherever I do. In the old days there was a reliance on the knowledge of a small social circle. This allowed for things like old wives tales to propogate. Without some external validation (or information to the contrary), how could you challenge the knowledge of someone that is supposed to know better? Combined with the traditional notion that seniority equals wisdom, you had no choice but to listen to Mom.
In short, there's a lot of stuff that I should know but don't but I also have an easy method for self service of those answers. So I now know how to tie a tie.
Jen and are still relatively new homeowners so it's a great breeding ground for all of these "I should know how to ___, but I have no clue." One recent challenge is a small but irritating issue: appearence of rust on our stainless steel sink. For the sake of being open, I'm a total sucker for cool, new cleaning "solutions." Mopping? Brooming? Forever replaced in my life by Swiffer. We would've been buried alive by cat fur from our old friend, Simon, without them. I have Magic Erasers, Magic Reach, Clorox ToiletWands, all which I find extremely helpful and enable me to live a fitter, happier, more productive life. We even trialed the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner, which made some cash disappear but it didn't do anything for the soap scum buildup.
A little research online and I found out that oxcylic acid reacts with ferric oxide to oxidize the rust stains quite selectively. A little forum scraping and I came across Bar Keepers Friend. I had a good feeling that this would work: the packaging was legit, vintage... like something my mom would use. And it was cheap. The product was also lost among the other cooler options and took some time to find even though I was looking right at it. Bought it and a scrub sponge and headed home to put the theory to test.
A couple minutes later and the sink was looking great. All rust has been eliminated. I highly recommend this stuff. Just stay away from the Automatic Shower Cleaner you can find in the same aisle.
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I made this up. It's awesome.
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the chai concentrate, water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Mix in the oats and reduce heat to medium.
For standard oats, cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
For quick oats, cook for about 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
Turn off heat and mix in the cut up pear pieces and whole blueberries. Be sure to fold into the oatmeal, without breaking up the fruit. Let the oatmeal sit for about 2 minutes. Serve for two!
Notes
I've used both Tazo and Oregon Chai and either is fine. Shift the balance on the water-to-chai-ratio to get something with a little more (or less) spice. You can also serve with a small splash of skim milk mixed in and topped with some Kashi granola.
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Over the past 20 years, we've seen the sizes balloon for all consumption containers (a "large" drink at Wendy's, for instance, is actually huge). The same story on fries.
But not those little white things for ketchup. What do you call those things? Oh yeah, stupid. What now qualifies as a "small" beverage cup is better suited.
Why can't we move up to a decent size ketchup container? I want a SINGLE vessel that will hold my ketchup, not 5. And to go -- why not have the same little plastic containers with peel off lids that we use for barbeque sauce and any of the other options for nugget dipping? Those tiny little packets are a joke.
This is a call. Heinz, McDonalds... all of you... get back in the game.
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