Google Reader Again

Everyone is making a big deal about Google Currents disappearing. But Google Newsstand has an RSS reader built in, AND it's primed to take over your reader feeds. Enable them and you're ready to go.

Cyanogenmod

I can't believe all the negative comments about CM these days. Especially CM11. Sure, sure not every device is supported. That's why I dropped LG and HTC phones to go with a Nexus 4. I'm looking forward to flashing the M2 release when I get a chance.

But come on, almost every custom ROM is based at least partly on CM!

And the complaints about spyware and CM being in Google's pocket. Well, yup, Android is Google's baby. So it makes sense that the developers who make the best, most stable custom ROM out there (in my opinion) would have a relationship with Google.

CM is hands down, bar none, the best custom ROM. Everything works. I don't know how many other rooms I've tried on multiple phones, and it's always the same story: sms doesn't work, 3D doesn't work, texts don't receive, wifi doesn't work, 4G doesn't work, on and on. Sure, maybe it's not bleeding edge, but most enhancements are cosmetic right now anyway. I need my phone to work! Every time! That's why the original Windows smartphones were so locked down. It's for safety and reliability.

Spyware? Please. There is only the illusion of security on electronic systems. If you want security, drop off the grid. Besides, why does anyone put anything on the Internet if not to have it looked at?

This post included.

Windows Media Center Recording Settings Explained

Edit 01-15-2014: After rebuilding my htpc a couple times it's become clear that these settings are arbitrary at best. I just have to trial and error the settings every time.

Windows media center has cryptic terms for how recordings are set.

1. To record three episodes of a show, recording every time, keeping the most recently aired shows:

Show type: New & rerun
Channels: any
Airtime: Anytime
Keep: Until space needed
Keep up to: 3 recordings
Stop: 3 minutes after, when possible

2. To record three episodes of a show, only recording when one has been deleted.  So in effect, there will always be 3 shows available, but some might be old.  This is good for something like Wheel of Fortune that it's nice to have a couple, but you don't want the PC starting up all the time to record new episodes.  The "Latest recordings" setting seems opposite of what you want, but that's the setting to keep older shows and not have WMC discard a show to record a new one.

Show type: New
Channels: any
Airtime: Anytime
Keep: Latest recordings
Keep up to: 3 recordings
Stop: 3 minutes after, when possible

3. To keep as many as possible, and not discard any shows to record new ones (for your favorite show).

Show type: New & rerun
Channels: any
Airtime: Anytime
Keep: Until I delete
Keep up to: As many as possible
Stop: 3 minutes after, when possible

Dinosaurs, Rawr

I just fired up my old GX150 (small desktop form factor) after several years in hybernation.

Anyone else have an old machine in stasis?

A list of the coolest things that I've ever done with a computer

These are the ones that come to mind

Year	Deed
1985	Heard a computer play “La Cucaracha”
1997 1997	Sent an email Installed Winamp
2001	Created a Video Compact Disc (VCD)
2001 2002	Hooked up a computer to a television to play digital video discs (DVDs) Bought a digital camera
2005	Built a 1 TB hard drive using four 250GB drives, setup as a Raid 0
2006	Shared a computer’s Ethernet connection over Bluetooth to a Sony T637 phone
2006	Converted videos to play on a Sony W810i Walkman phone
2009	Put a new operating system on a HTC Shadow Windows Mobile phone
2009	Copied Xbox saved games to an Xbox 360
2010	Put a new operating system on a Sony W810i Walkman phone
2010	Rooted an LG Optimus V Android phone
	Routers 2011	Put DD-WRT and Tomato onto a router
	2011	Used Tomato for port forwarding
	2011	Setup Remote Potato to access Windows Media Center remotely
	2011	Used Tomato as a Print Server
	2011	Used Tomato to set up a Universal Serial Bus (USB) File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site
	2013	Used Tomato to Wake On LAN (WOL) computers
	2013	Used Tomato to update a dyndns.com Internet protocol (IP) address automatically
2011	Used a thumb drive and Clonezilla to bit for bit copy a hard drive (as pointed out by my wife: just like in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
2012 2013	Slipstreamed Windows XP Installed dual boot operating systems on a Kindle Fire
2013	Used Tasker to disable the blinding "100% charged" green light emitting diode (LED) notification on a HTC EvoV Android phone

Google Reader

Everyone is making a big deal about Google Reader disappearing. But Google Currents has an RSS reader built in, AND it's primed to take over your reader feeds. Enable them and you're ready to go.

Worlds greatest inventions, in order of importance

Rock and Roll
Barbecue
Root beer