The Memorial Diamond

So, today I have what some folks may consider a morbid bit of technology for you. This picture features a memorial diamond, though it is just one style of many.

What is a memorial diamond? Basically, it is a diamond made from the ashes of your loved ones, should they choose to get cremated.

Death is a touchy subject for a lot of people, especially when it is the death of someone you love. I, for one, am ridiculously close to my parents, both of whom have expressed an interest in being cremated. Usually in such cases, ashes are either buried or placed in an urn, which is in turn put in a place of pride in your home.

With the LifeGem Memorial Diamond -- and with other companies which do similar work -- you can still do that, but you can also take a portion of your loved one's remains and have it made into a diamond, which is then set into a ring -- or a necklace, or bracelet, or any other piece of jewelry you fancy, I would imagine.

This may not be a piece of technology made to help humankind, it may not be the most helpful invention. However, there are a lot of people out there who dread the thought of being parted by the people they love most, and I just think that something like this gives you a way to memorialize them and keep them close to you forever. And I, for one, quite fancy that idea.

Tattoo Removal Goes Ultrasonic

So ... let's say you get a stupid tattoo -- or one which could potentially get you sued by the nose-less, baby-dangling King of Pop. Of course you can get tattoos removed these days, but it's something of an ordeal. Time was, it could also cause serious scarring, but technology just keeps getting better.

The latest news in tattoo removal involves ultrasonic measures. Getting tattooed is rather simple. The ink contains carbon particles, which are suspended in water. That water diffuses when the ink is introduced to your skin through the needle. The ink itself then spreads into the surrounding tissue. It is literally embedded in your skin, which makes removing it quite difficult.

These days, abrasion, surgical removal, and laser treatment are the most commonly used techniques. However, even as advanced as they are, infection is still a high risk, as is scarring. Recently, however, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh has come up with what he says is a completely non invasive technique for tattoo removal. Specifically, ultrasound is used to collapse the particles of pigment, thus removing a lot of the ink.

Medical Center Implements New Technology

Vanderbilt University’s Medical Center’s Center for Experiential Learning and Assessment is implementing some exciting new technology which promises to be groundbreaking for medical students and physiologists. A new, twelve thousand square foot lab has just been constructed – at the cost of five and a half million dollars.

The new lab contains two programs: the Program in Human Simulation and the Simulation Technologies Program. The former will allow students to go through clinical practices, which will lead to improvements in their interpersonal skills.

Mannequins will be used to simulate human patients. They are computer based and, as such, are physiologically similar to humans. The individual mannequins will be used to portray individual patients, not to mention family members, doctors, nurses, and any other people students will be in contact with during real time and real life situations.

Cisco Unveils New SAN Technology

My precious computer geek, l33t brethren, rejoice – Cisco is unveiling some new technology. Specifically, they’ve developed a new Storage Area Network, or SAN, which they promise will improve the performance and scalability of SAN systems. As well, the management of the systems will be much simpler, the date will be safer, and the SAD services on virtual machines will be better. The premise behind this new technology is to help users create, from design to construction, the next generation of data centers.

The new SAN is part of an expansion of the Data Center 3.0 series of Cisco’s products. They expect it will make data centers respond better, in addition to making them more resilient and efficient. The SAN technologies include three new modules from the MDS 9000 line as well as new features found in their SAN OS. Its new name is the NX-OS. The new switch modules has eight gigabits. You can use them in any combination, and they will increase both port density and performance, by into a preexisting Cisco chassis. The bonus is that this will not require any major upgrades.

MBI Breast Cancer Technology

There’s some brand new technology out, beneficial to women. It’s a new screening tool, designed to detect breast cancer. The clincher is that it can work three times better than the typical mammogram, thereby finding tumors faster and earlier. Furthermore, it can find tumors in women who have very dense breast tissue, which mammography has had problems with for years.

A mammogram is essentially an X-ray of a woman’s breasts. In comparison with the new technology, the old standard was found to find less than one third of the tumors discovered by the new technique.

The technique is called molecular breast imaging – MBI for short. It promises to make the process of finding breast cancer tumors faster, easier, and less invasive. For instance, patience will no longer need to be injected with the radioactive agents, which are absorbed by the tissue and used to make the tumors themselves show up in the X-ray. Instead, MBI uses cameras. It has a very low risk of radiation, but the makers are working to make even that small risk a non issue.

NASA's Nasty Little Virus

So, get this junk, y'all. NASA has worms. Seriously.

One of the awesome, super special astronauts has a worm in his laptop -- and this is not the first time NASA's been infected, it turns out.

This is disturbing on so many levels, and I am not soothed by the fact that NASA has dealt with it before, nor am I soothed by the fact that they don't really seem to see a problem with this little malware boo boo. I mean, what else would they say, that they were scared to death? That they're terribly afraid that mission data and other important, space related stuff was in jeopardy? Of course not. NASA isn't honest, no one that big is. That's like believing politicians tell the truth.

My biggest problem here -- and it seems to echo in a lot of the blogs and news reports I've read on this -- is how can they be so sure nothing was seen, taken, accessed? How do they know? It's all well and good to pat the public on the head in the hopes of making them think that some little super smart, sixteen year old hacker is just up to some mischievous tricks, har-de-har, those darn kids, but that does not answer the question of how in the frigging world does the International frigging Space Station attract malware? How? What? Huh?

We'll know the answer, I guess, when Russia blows us up or something.

Gaming Technology

Keep up with the latest in the gaming industry over at Technology-Wizard.com, a gaming technology that covers the latest games and gaming industry news. Gaming technology has never been covered like this before.

"We can rebuild him. We have the technology."

Well ... kind of. See, Nike made this. It’s the PreCool vest. The way it’s made, it’s supposed to take longer for the core temperature of your body to heat up to the point where you start getting exhausted. Right now, it’s being used during the Olympic Games over in Beijing – just as a prototype, of course.

You fill the vest up with cold water, which adds about 8 pounds onto you. The fabric keeps you from freezing, there’s insulation, and even a layer of aluminum that will reflect heat.

Naturally, it’s supposed to help you when you’re out on the playing field. Supposedly, like you’re the Six Million Dollar Man, it will make you faster, stronger, healthier – just better, basically.

And a little known fact: it’s actually styled after the mini dresses that were popular in the 60s.

You know, my birthday was Sunday...

...and if any of you awesome readers that I don't really know would like to get this for me, I'll ... well. Write a post on your piece-o'-technology-o'-choice. Okay?

Seriously, I don't even really have anything to say. I just think this is beautiful. It's the diNovo Edge from Logitech. Mind you, up to this point, I've really only thought of Logitech as a good product that I looked for when I wanted to get something useful but basic for, you know. Cheap. Like, I've got 9856 of their optical mice, one wireless optical mouse, one wireless keyboard (they came in a set, don'cha know?), and two webcams. Why? Because I needed them at the time, they were moderately cool in the tech department, and more importantly, I could afford them.

I cannot afford this. Well, I can, and I'll probably by it eventually because my GF got one for frigging FREE, and I saw it up close and touched it and admired my reflection in its shiny, shiny surface ... and then I had to leave it. And my soul still weeps.

Also, typing is a dream, it is hot as hell, and it's got what they call "backlit stealth controls" and I'm sorry, but that just seeps of awesome like an infection and I want one.

I sing in praise of getting 5 bars on my cell phone.

Good news for us poor shmucks who still don’t have decent cell phone service in our homes. I live in central New York and my cell phone only gets bars in, like, three rooms of a nine room house – only a third of the whole frigging house!

..but anyway! Sprint’s offering up this thing called the Airwave, which is made by Samsung. Essentially, it’s a miniature cell phone tower that works through your broadband. It covers up to five thousand square feet and as many as three cell phones can be used at the same time within its range. Admittedly, T-Mobile’s @Home is similar to this, and it may or may not be cheaper ... and I, for one, have T-Mobile, but whatever, teeny little home based cell phone towers in general are super neat, and considering all the snarking I do about cell phones in general and coverage in particular, it gets a couple of stars from me.

And now, couch potatoes rejoice!

Thanks to a new technology known as WHDI, or Wireless Home Digital Interface, the world of television is changing. This comes as all televisions – or at least television channels – are going to be undergoing brand new make overs, with all of them set to change over to digital in 2009. With Wireless Home Digital Interface, you will be able to mount big screen monitors right on the wall of your living room, bed room, et cetera, as well as surround sound speakers – without a great big mess of unsightly wires. Housewives all over the world are going to be rejoicing right along with their television watching husbands and children (that is a huge bit of generalization, but I’m sure you guys know what I mean). These little boxes will work with high definition TVs and they, too, are set to be available by 2009. Amimon Ltd., a company operating out of Israel, developed these little beauties. Companies like Panasonic, LG, Toshiba, and others are now planing to follow suit and develop their own wireless systems.

Wii enhancements: Wee!

There’s good news for gamers, yet again. The Nintendo Wii is possibly the greatest gaming system ever in life (warning: the preceding was a completely biased opinion and no, the author does not care), and Nintendo has plans to make it even better. Hot on the heels of the wildly popular Wii-Fit, which is has revolutionized the lives of fat-bottomed (warning: the preceding was a Queen reference, who caught that?) gamers everywhere, Nintendo intends to enhance the standard Wii-mote with a wee, teeny box called the Wii MotionPlus. It’s supposed to enhance the Wii-mote’s response and precision, and to make playing games on the Wii an overall more intense experience – namely because it is much more motion sensitive. Nintendo’s also introducing Wii Music, which lets gamers play fifty different instruments, just the way they are really played. The balance board is going to double as part of a drum kit – it will be the bass drum. Ba-dum ching, baby.

Can your cell phone kill you?

Recently in Moscow, over a dozen people were either injured or killed outright. The cause? They were struck by lightning. The underlying cause? Well, a lot of authorities there are blaming it on cell phones. For instance, one woman was struck by lightning while she was talking on her cell phone. People are actually blaming these strikes on several different pieces of portable technology; they consider MP3 players and other music devices to be just as much to blame.

Now, I definitely do not intend to make light of this situation; I used to live in fear of being struck by lightning. However, there is no real scientific proof that the weak electromagnetic fields put off by cell phones and other hand held, metal made devices could lure a stroke of lightning, even though evidence does support the fact that people carrying metal objects when they are struck by lightning may be more fatally wounded.

Still, it bears the question – who wants to be out in the middle of an electrical storm talking on a cell phone anyway?

Gamers, geeks, and Internet fr33ks: rejoice!

Experts in Australia have apparently created a new technology that is supposed to allow people to surf the Internet one hundred times faster than they do now. For that matter, a professor working with the product says that this probably won’t cost users anything.
The new technology evidently works to increase and improve the performance of optic fibers; the professor involved likened it to a scratch on a piece of glass, wherein the circuits will use the glass as a kind of path that the information will follow.
It’ll be a while before this technology reaches the market, but right now tests have conclusively shown that, in its current stages, this new technique has made surfing the web sixty times faster. Researchers on the product believe that with some more development, it can easily be one hundred times faster.

Eco-friendly washing machines ftw!

When you stop and think about it, it’s really about time that the overall design of washing machines get a new make-over. Xenos is taking a huge step in that regard – they have created an economically friendly washing machine. It is completely water efficient – namely because it uses plastic instead of water. It has been proven that a combination of friction and the cleaning solvent used are what ultimately gets clothing and fabrics clean. Keeping that in mind, Xenos uses a mixture of those factors and only 2 percent of water to get the job done. Apparently, you’ll be able to use one cup of water, a bit of your detergent of choice, and a butt-load of plastic chips that are used over and over again, all of which will work together to basically beat the dirt out of your clothes and get rid of stains. That’s right, the plastic chips will actually absorb stains.

This machine isn’t on the market yet, but the tests done on it thus far are showing some real promise. Not only is it water efficient, for instance, but the process of actually washing clothes followed by the way the chips themselves are extracted so they can be reused (for about one hundred times) leaves the items in the washer pretty dry, so you either won’t need to use your dryer at all, or you’ll only have to use it a bit for thicker fabrics.

Text messages are officially taking over the world.

PhoneTag – and various other companies – have this new thing now, in the ever widening world of telephone technology. Voice recognition software in cell phones isn’t all that new, but this looks awesome. They have services that can convert your voicemail messages into text messages; they will transcribe your voicemail, and then send to – well, anywhere, really. You can get it sent to your email and/or your phone, plus you can sign into your account on the company’s web site and retrieve your messages. Different companies offer different services, like the ability to have people send you silent messages, so your phone doesn’t even make a sound or anything, plus there are some features that will let you play an MP3 as sort of a soundtrack to your message. Most of them will let you put these services on home and business phones as well as cell phones. I had occasion to read about a lot of the companies offering things like this, and from what I saw, people were digging places like SpinVox, PhoneTag, and VoiceBox, more than companies like CallWave, mostly because the latter makes you change your voicemail number. Anyhow, people seem to like them because you don’t have to take down messages before and you can read through them even in places where you’re not supposed to have your cell phone switched on, like the movie theatre and malls and things.

Go iGoogle yourself.

Google’s upping the ante and it looks like they’re seriously attempting to compete with social networking sites like MySpace and FaceBook. They’re all about supporting OpenSocial now and they are finally – finally – reworking that bland homepage. I guess they’ve finally started listening to people’s complaints about it. These new improvements to iGoogle are an answer to public opinion as well. They plan to incorporate some of the elements and features already implemented in Gmail to spice things up a bit. iGoogle will have chat functions similar to Gmail and there will actually be real gadgets. The tabs are going to run up and down on the left side rather than on the top and you’ll soon be able to see what your friends are doing, via news feeds similar to what you can find on MySpace. Another social networking site ... I don’t know though. Google might be asking for trouble, throwing themselves into the ring with MySpace.

Invent an engine, win $3 million!

You guys may have noticed (or maybe you haven’t – I haven’t really been around long enough yet for all y’all to know my habits) that I stay the crap away from politics around here. That’s partly because I don’t want to get my butt spammed off, but also because I’ve got absolutely no clue about I’m voting for yet. That being said ... let’s talk about John McCain. He’s making me think of Al Gore lately, and I kind of like him for that. Then again, Dana Carvey’s Gore-theories on a recent comedy special sort of make me want to write in the guy’s name, for President of the World, so he can rule over global warming. But anyway...

Johnny’s put this offer on the table, see, and it really makes me wish I’d paid more attention in chemistry and physics and ... you know, whatever. Three million dollars, folks, for being able to come up with a battery for hybrid or electric cars – but not just any battery, oh no. It has to be able to actually work – I mean, really make it worth buying a fuel-saving car. Power, size, cost, and capacity – they’ve all got to be aces. And how does he propose to fund that giant reward? Everyone in America, every adult and child, gives one dollar. You know, I could get down with that. Dang, I’d donate a butt load more than that, if someone proposed a similar idea to get the country the crap out of debt.

Pitch-Perfect Technology

So. Good news and bad news, all in one package. Celemony Software, a Munich based company, has come out with some new recording technology. Direct Note Access is a computer program which can create digital recordings in which each note is perfect. It can change the individual notes of a specific instrument, for example, without it being necessary to touch any of the other notes. Everything can be entirely pitch perfect with little to no effort – because, yes, it is possible to perfect a singer’s pitch as well. So why is this bad news, too? Because I imagine that it means there will be tons more singers of the Ashlee Simpson/Brooke Hogan/et cetera variety, who can’t really carry a tune but get a record deal anyway, because they look good and computers can make them sound good, so hey, why not? I’m a music snob, ergo it’s bad news to me. Of course, that’s likely Ashlee’s problem already: her real problem on that SNL debacle was probably due to the fact that her studio made her sound so perfect that lip-synching was her only option for a live performance.

XP Becomes Extinct

It’s happening. It’s really happening. XP is going the way of the dinosaur and the Commodore 64, according to CNET. I’ve got a secret for all you cool cat techs, computer mavericks, and technology miscreants out there – I’m not superbly computer savvy. I know, big shock – but I’m not completely computer illiterate either; I know enough to like what I like and hate what I don’t. Windows XP works for me – and Vista makes my soul cry. Windows Vista makes a lot of people’s souls cry, but that doesn’t mean much to the bottom line. Dell’s already let go of Windows XP, setting it free like the proverbial true-love butterfly, but it’s pretty clear that XP was never meant to be for a lot of us. Folks who prefer Windows as an OS just got kind of screwed without either lube or the courtesy of a reach-around. Dell’s just a step of ahead of the game; other computer manufacturers are due to start phasing out their XP machines, and they should all be out of the way by 2009.
Windows in general and XP in particular have a lot of problems and get a lot of crap; I bitch about them myself often enough. But it’s still sort of disturbing that despite the majority’s rabid hatred for Vista, it’s getting the nod as Windows supreme. It happens, though. It’s quite akin to the way AOL is now basically AIM.

New Advances in Lasik Surgery

There’s good news for people with bad eyesight and about four thousand dollars burning a whole in their pockets.
More and more people are wearing glasses and/or contacts these days – we’re probably going to evolve that way. A couple hundred years from now – if the whole joint hasn’t burned up and burned out by then – babies will probably get fitted for glasses as soon as they pop out of the womb. It’s a technological hazard. We spend a heck of a lot of time looking at computer screens. On an average day, I spend at least nine hours staring at WordPerfect (shut up, I know it sucks but I like it) or web pages while I research the effects of green tea or specs on a 2005 Benz.
Lasik eye surgery is becoming a popular alternative to glasses and contacts, especially since people are having to get bifocals and the like earlier in their lives than ever. The FDA has improved a new, very advanced machine used in laser eye surgery, though. It’s called the Allegretto Wave Eye-Q and it can cut into or shape the cornea in half the time other, older machines take. It even nixes the worry most people have about lasik – that they’ll move during surgery and end up playing Captain Jack Sparrow for Halloween for the rest of their lives. If the eye happens to move, this machine stops. Use of this machine also makes it possible for patients to recover faster.

Tales from an iPhone Convert

I have seen the face of the Second Coming, and it is the iPhone 3G. All right, that’s a little hyperbolic, but considering the fact that I have long been anti-Apple and anti-iPhone (this is mostly because until, oh, now, most cell phone service – including AT&T wireless – in my area has been non-existent; plus I cannot use a Mac to save my life. No matter!), it’s still a big deal. This phone is beautiful. The other day I was doing something that required me to read a TIME article on Steve Jobs’ new baby, and before I was halfway finished, I became a complete convert. If Apple or AT&T would take an IOU for the promise of my first-born child, I’d be right there in the thick of the frenzy that’s sure to take place nationwide on July 11, when the 3G’s set to go on sale.

Apparently, this thing can load up graphic-heavy web sites in 29 seconds (whereas the original iPhone takes nearly a minute). That’s all thanks to the 3G network. It’s got honest-to-goodness GPS tracking and navigation (and the demonstration, Jobs showed the audience real-time footage of a 3G user going down San Francisco’s famously twisting Lombard Street – and evidently they actually cheered for it) and there are going to be tons of applications for it. Among them are games so awesome that they rival the graphics on the PSP.

What’s seriously awesome, though, is the price. According to TIME, the 8GB iPhone 3G is supposed to start out at $199, and at $299, the 16GB 3G is still one hundred dollars less than the price of the original iPhone’s 8GB model.

So I’m not saying that I’m going to rush right out and buy one in July – but I am thinking about it, and I will covet anyone who has one. I will covet them sharply, with brand new #2 pencils.

Fuel-Saving Technology

Fuel saving technology may prove to be the next big trend – though some of the products which claim to enhance fuel efficiency aren’t quite living up to expectations, at least according to the Wall Street Journal. There are products which claim to be able to be able to turn your car into a "water hybrid," and other which can supposedly improve fuel combustion – and then there’s the Scan Gauge 2. It can fit just about anywhere in the front of your car, works on vehicles made in 1996 or later (and in some ‘94-5 models), and keeps you up to date on fuel economy readouts from minute to minute. Some users say that they’ve gotten more miles to the gallon since using it, and are saving more than a hundred dollars a month.

One Step Closer to Controlling the World

It’s official: gamers are one step closer to really being able to (kind of) play God. This gamer is all tingly from the possibilities. No, it’s not a new, let’s-decide-who-lives-or-dies video game. It’s the next step in playing video games. Emotive Systems is coming out with a new headset system that’s designed to pick up your brain’s electrical activity. It can also pick up the movements of your facial muscles, as well as those in other spots. You can literally think about killing off a villain, and boom. It’s done. These will be out for Christmas, at $299 a headset.

Turn Your Phone into a Jukebox

We use our cell phones for everything these days. They can double as computers, cameras, and little pocket-jukeboxes – except that the sound quality in most devices, no matter how chic they are, rarely give us the oomph we get from MP3 players. If we don’t have the funds to spring for the choicest wireless devices, we’re SOL – at least, we were. Logitech’s got a Pure-Fi mobile speaker out on the market now. Phones with A2DP support will get some serious stereo-sound from these, and when paired with a Bluetooth, you can hear your music even if you’re 33 feet away.

Kicking the Tires

Before paying out huge amounts for new software, try it out first. Too many programs look cool, but then turn out to be kludgy in actual practice. Worse, they may not be what you are looking for, either because they don't quite have the functions you are looking for or it may create issues with your existing software or OS. It's not just kicking the tires, but making sure it runs.

Budgets ANd Buying Technology

When you are thinking about buying something new, think about what you need it to do, and then do research online before going into a store. You can set a budget up before you go to the store. If you limit yourself to that budget, you can save money, as the budget will give you that ability to shake off most salesman's pitches!

Checking it out!

Before paying out huge amounts for new software, try it out first. Too many programs look cool, but then turn out to be kludgy in actual practice. Worse, they may not be what you are looking for, either because they don't quite have the functions you are looking for or it may create issues with your existing software or OS. It's not just kicking the tires, but making sure it runs.

Technology as Religion

The weirdest thing about technology is perhaps its effects on pop culture. By taking what is actually happening in technology, throwing in some urban legends, and extrapolations based on the history of technology, pop culture is experiencing an interesting regenesis. Even more interesting is that pop culture and science have formed an interesting symbiosis: Ideas put forth by pop culture are integrated into science, which are then put back into pop culture for someone else to pick up. And this symbiosis shows up in weird places.

Consider the effects of Star Wars on religion. The Force has spawned a renewed interest in Eastern religions, which have their own version of spiritual forces permeating the universe. This has created a renewed interest in religion in general, which, of course, has been expressed in more and more films and books.

Interestingly, this has given rise to a techno-shamanism, where not only the computer doesn't impeded spiritual awareness, but actually assists it, allowing expression and discussion of personal beliefs. Although it would not be fair to say that the computer has been universally embraced, it would be fair to say that it has created its own discussions on whether or not it's a good thing, and what the end result will be. And that exploration will define who we will be as a species.

Building Communities Through Communication

It's interesting that technology has created tighter communities than there used to be. We are now capable of doing whatever we want and still maintaining contact with those communities. The advent of the cell phone, instant messaging, and e-mail are arguably some of our greatest accomplishments, as they allow communication as long as the person is near an electronic device.

E-mail is something that a practically unlimited number of uses, as it allows for sharing information in a myriad of forms, from URL links to documents to images. It's just a matter of compiling the information, putting it in a form that can be transmitted and then transmitting that information. It can be used to quickly move information around, and move up almost any decision-making process.

Cell phones have become incredible tools. Besides enabling communication almost everywhere, they can be used to take pictures and provide vocal information, either storing that information until a cell tower can be found, or for immediate transferral.

Instant messaging has some limits, but its ability to share files with some short snippet of information can explain the file being shared. Also, it can be used to discuss some information, offering better context for the information provided, and thus clarifying the communication.

Alone, they are powerful. Together, they allow a practically unlimited ability to communicate. And that ability to communicate creates tighter communities.

Pareto's Law

I've been reading a business book called The 4-hour Work Week, which has really opened my eyes on a couple of things. The book is about improving effectivity and efficiency to the point where you only need 4 hours a week to perform all your work tasks, allowing you to free your life to live it up and do whatever you want.

The first point I'd like to discuss regarding this is Pareto's Law or the 80/20 rule. You may have heard of this, but essentially much of business falls into this 80/20 rule. 80% of your revenues comes from 20% of your customers. Or 80% of your revenues comes from 20% of your products. And 80% of your headaches comes from 20% of your customers, etc. etc.

So, one way to start improving effectiveness is to focus on the pieces that matter, and discarding the rest. If 80% of your problems come from 20% of your customers - then shed those customers. Just drop them. You've just improved your life and your business. With all that time freed up, you can now focus on more important matters - like looking at the 20% of your products that produce 80% of your revenues and further promoting those. Or supporting the 20% of customers that produce 80% of your sales.

The point is not to just make a lot of money - the point is to free up your time so you can spend your money. Your job is not your life. Your career is lame no matter what it is. Life offers so much more than work - get smarter, streamline your business and your time, and then you can see what life has to offer. To have complete freedom is hard to imagine, but it is attainable.

Tennis and Technology

Tennis is a game that has remained fundamentally unchanged since its beginnings in 1875. Babolat Racquets are still creating world-class rackets, as they have since they first shook hands with the creator of the game. The major controversy is still clay versus grass, and the game has still been shaken to the core by politics (even though it's now on the forefront of gender politics rather than government).

Tennis shoes are an important part of the tennis player's gear, allowing the player to quickly react to the incoming ball. K Swiss tennis shoes are a refinement of the standard tennis shoe. The first leather tennis shoe (debuting at Wimbledon in 1966), K Swiss is a premium tennis shoe. It is not only worn by athletes on the courts and track, but s also worn as a fashion statement. In fact, wearers sometimes have two pairs of shoes: One for their sports and one for everyday wear. It's a popular shoe not only for its appearance but for how comfortable it is.

The game has been a recipient of the space age in a number of subtle ways. The least subtle way has been in the tennis racquets where graphite strings and metal frames have increased the performance of tennis stars past the original cat gut and wood. With athletes looking for every edge that they can get, the increased power of strikes thanks to the new racquets has vitalized the sports, and made endorsement deal so much sweeter, even in a sport where there are ostensibly limited opportunities for advertising.

Although the rules and courts haven't changed much, the technology has. Tennis is still an exciting sport, where the stakes usually spill past the court. It may not be one of the biggest sports, but people still watch tennis, and probably always will.

Looking for some nice property in Point Loma?

The housing slump has hit all levels of housing, creating a unique opportunity for those looking for new housing. Although its effect on the lower-end homes has been remarked on, its effect on higher-end homes has been almost ignored. In San Diego foreclosures apply to all homes, even those on Point Loma.

Point Loma features some of the most expensive real estate on the West Coast. Featured in MTV's Real World San Diego, Point Loma is known for its golf courses and military presence (featuring both a naval base and the Space and Naval Warfare Center, as well as a cemetery for fallen soldiers). There is also the Cabrillo National Monument, which celebrates the Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the first European explorer to see San Diego Bay, which features the Old Point Loma Lighthouse. For those interested in more current affairs, there is also a Sports Arena, featuring anything from hockey games to rock concerts.

Point Loma real estate is family-friendly, but still upscale. With a population of just over 45,000, it has a small town feel, making it great for those looking for place to raise children. For families looking for the future of their children, Point Loma Nazarene University is on the peninsula. The military presence isn't felt as heavily as one would think, and adds to the feeling of security, both in terms of physical security and that there is a stable economic base.

At the same time, there is everything you would ever need nearby. There is plenty of beach; it is a peninsula, after all! For those interested in boats, the marina is known for its yachts. And you can find just about anything for sell in the Midtown District, which features almost every consumer good known to man. With San Diego a short drive away, with its own stores, universities, and sights. Just a little further away is Mexico, making Point Loma near just about anything you would ever want it to be near.

It's a sign of just how nasty the housing slump has gotten is that some of this gorgeous property has shown up on the San Diego foreclosure lists. Although there is more to Point Loma than just the swanker properties, and it is known for its seedier side, there are nonetheless a number of housing opportunities in the upscale parts.

There a number of foreclosure properties in San Diego, with a wide variety of options available. It's important that you not only inspect the property in question, but that you also spend a day looking at the nearby area, ensuring that the property is what you are looking for. After all, even with the slump, a home is still a home, and you need to feel comfortable in any house that you buy; you will be spending a lot of time there, and it just doesn't pay to be somewhere you don't like. Wherever you live should be a home, not merely a house.

GamblingPHD

One of the more interesting gambling sites I've run across is Gambling PHD. It's a site that offers some interesting articles on gambling, as well as some interesting links. It's also a great place for revews of Online Casinos.

Gambling PHD approaches the gambling site from a different perspective. Instead of acting as merely the splash page to a game, the site acts as a mini-portal, allowing gamblers to not only go to suggested links, but to also read articles about gaming, from its history to psychology to basic rules. There is even a section regarding the signs of addiction and what to do if you become addicted! Although it could use a slightly better design, the site is perfect for what it does, which is to get you playing as quickly as possible without looking too foolish for your first time, or to give experts a slight edge, and any experienced gambler knows that even the slightest edge can be valuable.

Gambling PHD is definitely one that you should check out. It offers some decent information, as well as some great games, as well as a quick reviews of the Online Casinos. You should check it out at least as it could be an interesting addition to your gaming links.

Big iPhone Zealot!

I've had the iPhone for about 2 months now, and honestly, it is BY FAR the best cellphone I've ever owned or used. Apple has done it once again, revolutionizing the functionality and usability of a digital piece of hardware - first the MP3 player and now the cellphone.

And it's not just that the iPhone is a sleek phone with internet capabilities and a cool interface. I can use the iPhone for much of the tasks I use my laptop for! The iPhone uses Apple's Safari web browser. This is a full functioning web browser capable of viewing any website clearly on the iPhone. You are not limited to mobile versions of websites. You don't have to scroll around a webpage because it can't fit on your cellphone's display. You can use the iPhone to view any webpage, and then use the iPhone's intuitive features to zoom in and out of the page, and flip between multiple web sites.

As an internet entrepreneur, the iPhone is ideal. I can check my websites, statistics, google searches, etc all on the iPhone. And if I'm near a WiFi spot, the iPhone will try to connect to the wireless network for internet connectivity rather than rely on its cellphone AT&T connection for improved performance.

Most of my work is performed via email, so the iPhone is also ideal in this respect. It connects to my gmail POP server and downloads new emails whenever I switch to the mail application on the iPhone.

Of course, the iPhone is also a 4GB iPod, so I can work out in the gym with the iPhone, listening to music, and if an incoming call comes in, the the iPhone pauses the music, and allows you to answer the phone, with the earphones still in.

The iPhone has other great features, a stock ticker, weather, maps, notes, camera, calendar, etc.

The iPhone is the greatest phone ever in my opinion, and I would highly recommend looking into it!

Now I wonder how the new MacBook Air is? That looks pretty impressive too, I may have to get one...

eHarmony...has lots of ugly people!

If you think about it, online dating makes a lot of sense. The internet has revolutionized the way people can connect to information - products, news, etc. It seems the internet would be an extremely efficient way to connect to a significant other.

I'm always seeing commercials for eHarmony so I thought I'd try it out.

It's interesting, you fill out the profile and then the system connects you to people it thinks you may like. Unfortunately, I don't like ugly, obese, desperate 30+ somethings. I don't know how to tell eHarmony to stop sending me those matches.

I feel bad because I keep hitting the "Close Match" button, which basically is a rejection of the poor girl. Some of these girls must get A LOT of these rejections. So I felt bad and stopped hitting that button, but then all the matches just pile up and become unmanageable.

I'd have to say about 50% of my matches have semi-interesting profiles. And then of those 50%, about 2% are attractive. So, of every 100 girls, there's only 1 that becomes very interesting. Of course, every other guy must think the same thing so we all try communicating with the same girl...

Not sure how you win at this game yet, but I'm gonna keep playing and I'll give an update on this at a later date!

TalkTalk.co.uk Phone Company

Check out this new UK based phone company, TalkTalk.co.uk. TalkTalk is unlike any other phone company I've heard of, these guys offer free broadband with their phone service! They have different plans for just UK Callers, UK & International callers, UK & mobile callers, and UK, International, & mobile callers, each of which can provide savings to the customer.

And with all the plans, except for the Talk1 plan, you get free internet broadband service! The highspeed broadband deal delivers up to 8MB of download speed, and up to 40GB of monthly usage. But it's just not about free broadband, their regular phone plans can save you money with free landline calls on evenings and weekends within the UK, unlimited calls to other TalkTalk members, and unlimited anytime calls to 36 international destinations (this depends on the plan you choose).

TalkTalk also has plans to reduce the costs of dialing mobile phones! This is something that they are working on and will be announcing some time in the future.

If you are currently with BT, Tiscali, or NTL/Virgin, you may be able to save money while improving your service by switching to TalkTalk.

Minivans Rock!

I've been thinking about minivans lately. I see commercials detailing the massive amounts of features these minivans have now, like back seats that can swivel 360 degrees, multiple LCD televisions, etc. So what if we can hire a driver to take my friends and I around town in our new minivan. We can swivel one set of seats to face the other, and place a little card table in between. Now four people could comfortably face each other and play a game of poker. We could put the movie 300 in the DVD player, drink martinis, and play poker while our driver cruises us to a fancy restaurant for dinner.

Why isn't this possible?! I'm going to make minivans popular among housewives and 30 year old playas!!

Poker Zealot

Yes, I can't help but really love this game. I think it's a great game of mental toughness, patience, concentration, even acting...

I've recently found this incredible site: FlopTurnRiver.com. It's not a gambling site, it's more of a poker community, reviews, and poker information site. You can't actually play poker there, but you can read all about it. And everything they offer there is complete free. You can spend several hours everyday perusing their site and not make a dent in a month. But below are some of the highlights.

If you're new to FlopTurnRiver or poker in general, you should start in their Beginner Poker section where they have some beginner essays to introduce you to the site and the game. There's also a beginner section in the Poker Forum called the Beginner's Circle where some of the more advanced poker players teach and advise the beginners.

FlopTurnRiver offers higher level poker strategy essays and tournament strategy essays if you are looking to learn and improve your poker and Texas Holdem skills.

Some other highlights include over 40 free instructional poker videos, several articles on poker tells, no deposit poker rooms, comprehensive poker room reviews, and of course, the very active poker forums that feature over 600,000 articles.

But for those who are interested in actually playing some online poker, you have to check out FlopTurnRiver's poker bonus code section, where you can get extra special bonuses such as their Full Tilt Referral Code, Ultimate Bet Bonus Code, and PokerStars Marketing Code. These special codes give you extra bonus dollars and perks above and beyond what you can get anywhere else!

Well, that's my review of the highlights of FTR, check them out if you have any interest in poker!

The blog is back! Long live the blog!

This blog is back to life!!! Yay! We're bringing life back to dead blogs! My name is Slumpy and I've assumed ownership of this blog. So be sure to note that starting in 2008, all entries are now made by me and not your previous owner. All of the old entries will remain here for past readers and out of respect for the previous owner. Check back as I begin to post my own thoughts!