LazyAutomation.com

For any of you that might have missed their recent blog post, Google has announced that they are currently rolling out https: access for all GMail users. Up until now, Google has left it up to the end user to decide whether or not to use encryption, since users can experience delays as encrypted data generally travels slower than unencrypted.

Perhaps this news was the impetus to changes Google’s thought process.

So it is now one week since I entered my company’s Biggest Loser challenge. Since then I have lost a total of 6.5 pounds. I am a little disappointed in myself since I binged a bit at a friend’s house over the weekend. They graciously provided a healthy spread of pigs in a blanket, shrimp, nachos with cheese and beer to satisfy everyone’s appetite. Couple that with a nice sushi dinner later that night and you have a recipe for disaster. Nevertheless, 6.5 pounds isn’t bad and there are some things I need to begin this week such as working out and running.

My breakfasts have been fairly simple during the week; a bowl of oatmeal with a tablespoon of brown sugar added. I cannot give up my morning coffee, although I have cut down to one cup in the morning. I have been bringing some fruit and a yogurt to work to snack on throughout the day. Generally it has been a banana and a pear. My yogurt of choice is Dannon’s Light and Fit cups, which are 80 calories each.

Lunch is fairly consistent during the week; a turkey sandwich on whole wheat with mustard and hot pepper rings. I find the heat of the peppers makes me eat a bit slower, considering that I have a bad habit of inhaling my food.

For dinner, I have been trying to stick to the Lean Cuisine microwaveable meals. They average 300 calories each and don’t taste all that bad. My only problem with them is that there really isn’t a lot of food in them, so I have to eat them very slowly to trick my mind into thinking they are a big meal.

Combine the fruit and a bag of popcorn at night and I have been sticking in the 1200-1400 calorie a day range.

This morning I exercised with the Bowflex. Although the overall workout burned very little calories (88 according to DailyBurn), I do have a nice feeling of tightness over my body.

I took some photos last Monday morning. I forgot to this morning but will make sure to do that and measure myself tonight to better track my progress.

My progress can be viewed here.

So it is now 2010 and of course, I find myself looking in the mirror and realizing I have to lose weight. Who am I kidding – I don’t need to look in the mirror, I know I have gained weight. Just two months ago, I ran my first marathon. Since then, I have managed to put on nearly 20 pounds. 20 pounds!

Several weeks before the New Year, it was decided in my office that a “Biggest Loser” challenge was in the works. All contestants would pony up $50 and the people with the largest percentage weight losses would win their rightfully deserved booty. When the smoke cleared, 47 people entered – and a nice booty was established!

In addition to my much needed weight loss, I also realized that I have been neglecting LazyAutomation. So, without further ado, I bring you “Lazy Weight Loss”.

I will be dusting off my Bowflex machine and removing the junk that has accumulated on my treadmill. After some research, I have put together a plan that should not only put me in a position to win some money, but also better prepare me for my upcoming half marathon. Of course, I need to prepare a program that will be idiot proof while keeping me focused. To track my weight loss I will be using DailyBurn.

Stay tuned!

Imagine arriving home after work and replaying the day’s events. Who you spoke to… who you saw… what you experienced… You could fast forward, rewind, and pause.

Sound strange? Yes indeed. But it is out there, and Microsoft is investing money in it. You can read more of it from Microsoft here.

Enter the SenseCam

From Wikipedia:

Microsoft’s SenseCam is the key image capture tool for the MyLifeBits project, a lifetime storage database. [...] This research prototype of a wearable camera will contribute to an easier way of collecting and indexing one’s daily experiences by unobtrusively taking photographs whenever the internal sensor is triggered by a change in temperature, movement, or lighting. In addition, the trigger can be disabled and set to go snap photos in a timer mode. The Sensecam^[3] is also equipped with an accelerometer, which will stabilise images so as to reduce blurriness. The camera can be worn around the neck or attached to one’s belt or pocket.

The photos represent almost every experience of its wearer’s day. They are taken via a wide-angle “fish-eye” lens in order to capture an image that is likely to contain most of what the wearer can see.

Some people refer to these devices as Life Recorders and go so far as to predict that they will be this century’s wristwatch.

Having the ability to play back one’s events of the day is quite intriguing. Imagine a person with Alzheimer’s, unable to recall events. With a SenseCam, he or she could play back the day’s activities ad refresh their memory.

I’m not sure where I stand completely on this… I doubt though that I would wear one… This is a major privacy concern for me.

What are your thoughts on this? Would you wear a SenseCam?

The buzz these days on a lot of the tech blogs is something called augmented reality:

Taken from Wikipedia:

Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged with-, or augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery – creating a mixed reality.

You have witnessed AR before; that yellow line that lights up the first down line while watching a football game is a form of AR.

But how is it coming to your cell phone?

Check out this cool video:

Picture this:

You are traveling and have no idea where to find the train. You hold your cell phone up and point it up the street and immediately see that 3 blocks ahead is a subway station.

Not too shabby, eh?

iPhone already has some apps out there. I know that I have seen similar apps that let you hold your phone up to the sky at night and distinguish constellations.

Now if we would start seeing some for the Palm Pre…

Alright, here is a new one…

Wakoopa (www.wakoopa.com)

Taken from the About Us page:

Wakoopa is a social network that helps people discover the best software, games and web apps on the market. Sign-up, install a small tracker on your desktop and automatically create your online software profile that you can share with friends and the world, also through widgets. Wakoopa keeps you updated about what your contacts are using, and sends you smart recommendations. Games, audio & video players, instant messengers or office tools: Wakoopa knows what’s hot.

So I set up my account and now it’s tracking the applications that I use… I am not sure whether or not I like the idea of an app sitting in my tray sending information about my usage to a foreign site, but for purposes of this blog I will succumb.

So I am a Novice now and 4 points shy of an Enthusiast. Apparently, 5000 points will get me Overlord status; however, in order to achieve that I will probably have to quit my day job and lock myself in my basement… Perhaps I will set my sights on the lower Expert status (1000 points).

What is nice about this site is that it allows me to find out what software people are generally using on their PC’s. In the event I am looking to try something new out, it would be a safe bet that if it is ranked high on Wakoopa, there is a good possibility that it is decent.

What are your thoughts? Would you allow an application to provide feedback about which apps you use on a regular basis?

Update: In the middle of writing this article I became an Enthusiast! Hooray for me? Is this the beginning of the end?

So you are driving down the road, all is good… When suddenly…

The check engine light appears on your dashboard.

Ohhh #@$%!!!

Your stomach twists and turns… What could it be? Is my car going to blow up? How much is THIS going to cost me?

You bring it to the mechanic. He tells you the percolator pipe that runs from the condenser to the intake box is bad and needs replacement. Fortunately, he diagnosed it quickly – but it’s going to cost you $1000. A lump begins working it’s way from your stomach to your throat. You rummage through your pocket for that pack of Rolaids that you had to pick up to help settle your stomach, realizing that there is just one left…

You take out your credit card and hand it over, completely at the mercy of this stocky, beer bellied fellow with the letters LOVE and HATE tattooed on the knuckles of each hand.

Does this sound familiar?

Hey, I am not knocking auto mechanics – I know there are plenty reputable shops scattered across the United States. It would just be nice to know at the end of the day if you are being taken for a ride or not.

Enter the OBD reader…

Taken from Wikipedia:

On-Board Diagnostics, or OBD, in an automotive context, is a generic term referring to a vehicle’s self-diagnostic and reporting capability. OBD systems give the vehicle owner or a repair technician access to state of health information for various vehicle sub-systems. The amount of diagnostic information available via OBD has varied widely since the introduction in the early 1980s of on-board vehicle computers, which made OBD possible. Early instances of OBD would simply illuminate a malfunction indicator light, or MIL, if a problem was detected—but would not provide any information as to the nature of the problem. Modern OBD implementations use a standardized fast digital communications port to provide realtime data in addition to a standardized series of diagnostic trouble codes, or DTCs, which allow one to rapidly identify and remedy malfunctions within the vehicle.

I picked up mine at Harbor Freight (I am lucky to have one about 30 minutes from my house – your mileage may vary) for about $90 and it paid for itself almost immediately. Every car has an electrical connector directly under their steering wheel. By plugging an OBD reader into this connector, you can immediately find out the cause for the light. Once you have the code, a little Googling will tell you exactly what is wrong.

The check engine light on my girlfriend’s Altima went on one day. The code indicated a camshaft sensor. We contacted the dealership for an estimate and was told between $350 and $400 dollars. I was able to buy the sensor for $125 and installed it myself – it turned out the sensor was right at the top of the engine and was held in by one bolt. Fifteen minutes and another five minutes to wash my hands and the job was done. Wait, let me correct that. It was twenty minutes – I had a helluva time trying to pull the wire harness from the sensor. By the way, if you haven’t searched and found a forum specializing in your specific car you are crazy. No matter what the car, rest assured there is a forum of average people and mechanics looking to help you fix your car. For my car, I visit Bimmer Forums. The have thousands of posts archived and with a little searching, you can find out a solution to just about any problem.

Don’t get me wrong – there is a time and a place for a mechanic. Trust me, I am not going to try to tackle a transmission job. But for something described above, why wouldn’t I want try to save myself a few bucks – not to mention the inconvenience of having to leave my car at a shop for the day.

Let me throw you another story:

When I bought my car (which was used), within the first 30 days the check engine light came on and I immediately called the dealership. I had already determined that the cause of the light had to do with the transmission. Unfortunately, the fix for this problem ranged from a fuse to a sensor to a torque converter replacement. I never let on to the dealership that I had already checked the codes. I brought the car in and they called me later that day.

“Hello sir. We checked the car and there could be something wrong with the transmission. We are going to change and sensor and have you pick it up. If the light comes on again, we may need to keep the car for a few days.”

They changed the sensor and I picked the car up. Sure enough, a few days later the check engine light came on again. I brought it back it and again they called me at the end of the day.

“Hello sir. Sorry about this, but we are going to have to keep the car for a few days. We will need to change the torque converter.” (which, after checking with Bimmer Forums, was a $1500 job)

In the end, they took care of everything and I knew they were being honest.

In my opinion, the $90 I spent on the reader paid for itself two to three times over. Not to mention that I have become the resident “diagnostic dude” with my friends.

What about you? Do you have a OBD reader? Any good stories to share?

If you have read any of my articles to date, you know that I am the one that will do anything to try and automate a process…

Take coffee: I fill up my coffee pot at night. Set the timer, go to sleep, wake up with a nice cup o’ joe…

Or at least I thought it was a nice cup o’ joe…

I was reading an article the other day about a french press coffee maker. What the heck is that? Well, I like some things that start with french… I digress…

From Wikipedia:

A French press, also known as a press pot, coffee press, coffee plunger or cafetière, is a simple filterless coffee brewing device, probably invented in France in the 1850s, but first patented by Attilio Calimani in 1931.

So I am wandering around Ikea the other day and I suddenly see a display of french press coffee makers… for $13. Ok, for $13, I will try it out (although I know many of you frugal folks out there detest impulse buys).

I get home and rummage through my ever growing bookmarks in my firefox browser and find the article I was reading. I grab the Chock Full of Nuts coffee from the refrigerator and dump 3 1/2 tablespoons (I find out later to raise that amount a bit) of ground coffee into the pot and start a pot of water boiling in my electric kettle. After the water comes to a boil I let it sit for a minute or so, dump the water into the coffee pot and replace the lid. I let it sit for 2 minutes and push the press down.

I am feeling very “Euro” right now

I have to admit it. The coffee was pretty damn good.

Apparently, there is a cult following of people that feel that this is the only way to brew coffee. Not only that, they grind their own beans every morning as well.

Now to just figure out how to automate the grinding of the beans…

Where do I sign up?

Many of you read my article on MAME-based home arcades. In my quest to re-create the ultimate gaming experience, I came across a website by Andy Hofle called the Arcade Ambiance Project. Andy has put this package together to simulate the audio ambiance of a crowded arcade room. The four different iterations are 1981, 1983, 1986 and 1992. Sounds such as Dig Dug, Asteroids, Defender and Donkey Kong are peppered throughout the MP3, to name a few. In addition these sounds, Andy also includes samples of coin changers, bells, and general ‘crowd’ noise were taken from a local arcade. Jeff Shanholtz has also put together an “Ambience” utility application to play the music in the background of your MAME cabinet. For me, I will probably load them onto my server and stream them in my basement, where the final MAME box will be located. Either way, Andy deserves a lot of credit for putting this together.