Due in part to the positive reception and interest in my post about Oklahoma Aviation and my flight lessons, I've decided to write a bit more about the learning process and my early stages of flight education.  Because those posts don't really fit in here, I've decided to resurrect a mostly long-dormant site and to post my writing there.  So, you'll want to visit http://getezra.net/tag/flight to read more there.

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For many, a--if not "the"--path to true happiness (also called "enlightenment"), is coming to fully understand the implications of the oneness of the universe ... and to hold on to that understanding, through thick and thin.

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This isn't the first time I've written about a local business or service-provider that might not be close to you at all, but it's been over a year and I have more than one post of this nature in the queue.

I'm starting with Oklahoma Aviation--not an airline, but a flight-training school, aircraft management and rental operation. My experience is specifically with the flight school, and all I can and will say about the plane-rental side is that I know the planes are modern, clean, and well taken care of.  For the remainder of this post, when I speak of 'Oklahoma Aviation,' (or OKAV) I am writing only about their flight school.

My first contact with OKAV was about seven weeks ago, when I emailed a few flight schools in my general area.  I heard back from only two of them, and went to visit both.  In addition to clearly being a very professional operation, I was won over by the fact that OKAV is an FAA-certified Part 141 training school (this means they have had their training syllabus approved by the FAA; and that training for the Private Pilot certificate can be completed in as few as 35 hours); have a fleet of very modern training aircraft; the owner is a genuinely thoughtful, nice, and responsive person who clearly cares a great deal about his business (and in a way that's very client-friendly); they have six (going on seven) instructors all of whom I know are highly competent and very experienced, and--perhaps most important--I really clicked with one particular instructor when I made the rounds meeting people.  As I heard recently on an aviation podcast:  You're going to spend around 80 hours one-on-one with the instructor, with at least half that time in a small cockpit, and so it's very important that you really get along well and can learn from your instructor given his or her personality and teaching style. 

My main training plane

To elaborate on some of those points:  

• In addition to having an FAA-approved curriculum, OKAV is also a Cessna training center.  The former is important because under "Part 61," instructors are free to teach students however they'd like, in whatever order they'd like, as long as they teach certain things.  While many people learn to fly under Part 61, a Part-141 approved school / instructor at least to me seems likely to have things together a bit more.  I know I am opening myself up to comments from instructors who teach under Part 61, or students who've successfully trained under Part 61, but I'll just say that for me, given my particular criteria, a Part 141 school is preferable.  When you are trying to find an instructor or flight school, by all means consider the differences (and similarities) between the two, and go with whatever you feel is best for you.  I'll even concede that if you find a Part 61 instructor whom you just looove, and the Part 141 instructor you click with most is only a "good fit," then go with the guy or woman you looove.  Ultimately I believe that is more important than whether you're training undre Part 141 or Part 61.  Enough of that.  On the second point--OKAV being a Cessna trainin center--it doesn't mean a *ton* but does mean that they have had their operations approved to a certain extent by Cessna, and have to maintain certain minimum standards to keep that association.  This wasn't a big part of my decision, to be honest.

• Although you might think a plane built in 1999 is super old, keep in mind that the age of the plane is simply the age of the *airframe*.  Under FAA regulations, planes need their engines and various other parts replaced at regular intervals, and the 1999 plane I flew in a couple of weeks ago had an engine with maybe 13 hours on it.  It is very common to find flight schools and airplane-rental shops with planes from the 1970's.  Not so much the 1960's, but many people train in planes built in the 1970's.  It is really rare to find a flight school where you can do all of your training in planes built in the last 10 years.  I personally have done all but three of my flights in a 2006 Cessna 172 Skyhawk, with two of the exceptions being in a 2009 Skyhawk and one in a 1999 Skyhawk. If I'm telling you that the 1999 plane just got a new engine, and that I believe plenty of planes from the 1970's are airworthy, why do I even care about the year the plane was built?  First, even the Cessna Skyhawk has had subtle but significant improvements that emerged around 1996.  Those improvements make the plane much more docile, easy to control, and safer.  Additionally, I want to learn in a plane with a "glass cockpit" (i.e., a computerized set of instruments integrated with GPS and traffic and terrain awareness, with the old-fashioned vacuum-based gagues as back-ups, rather than a plane with only primary instruments as vacuum gagues and maybe a separate GPS).  The vacuum gagues are fine, but as someone who wants to go on to obtain an Instrument rating (i.e., one that will let me fly in clouds and bad weather) and who would generally like to rent and fly in planes with modern GPS systems, terrain, weather and traffic awareness features, it makes sense to learn in a plane that has those features.  Just below you can see a photo of the cockpit of the 2006 Skyhawk.  The round things between the two control yokes are the backup vacuum gagues.

The two computer-screens are the Garmin G1000 system.

• Not mentioned above, another nice thing about learning to fly with Oklahoma Aviation is that they are based at Wiley Post Airport.  That is nice because it (a) has a control tower (meaning I get to learn how to communicate with ATC on a regular basis), (b) isn't that busy (so I'm not spending time {and money} sitting on the taxiway waiting to take-off) and (c) doesn't see any heavy-jet traffic, so I don't have to deal with the turbulence their engine-wakes produce.

I have enjoyed every minute of my flight training so far.  After my first 1.5 months my primary instructor became very busy overall, and I have had lessons with another instructor who I also get along with well.  It actually is a bit of a benefit to fly with a different instructor now and then, because every instructor is different, and you pick up new things from different pilots.  

I would recommend that you speak candidly with any flight-school owner and the instructor you choose regarding the instructor's student load and the possibility that it will increase during your training.  I would also make sure that you figure out and discuss with your potential instructor your general available times for lessons, to make sure (s)he doesn't already have a large number of students who want to fly when you do.  Working with a substitute instructor has its benefits--as described above--but beyond a certain point, you begin to lose efficiency.  I would not be particularly happy if I had to work with a substitute more frequently than once every seven or eight lessons--and I don't think you would, either.  OKAV and my instructor have been able to accomodate my schedule and I am fortunate that they are smart about expansion (i.e., hiring new instructors as they grow).  As things stand, I feel that at the conclusion of my training for the Private Pilot license, I will be highly prepared not only for my checkride (the practical exam necessary to earn the license), but more importantly, to be a safe and effective pilot who is more-than ready to continue training (in my case, towards the Instrument rating).

Flying is wonderful.  If you're in the Oklahoma City area, check out Oklahoma Aviation.  If you're not, find a flight school that "feels" right to you (the last thing you want is to have any doubts about the instructors, the planes, or the rigor of the planes' maintenance), and start flying. 

Update! 

On January 9, 2012, I flew my first solo flight.  For non-aviatiors:  That means I flew without an instructor on board.  The lesson started uneventfully:  My instructor told me we would be staying in the traffic pattern and doing a few touch-and-go landings and emergency procedures.  My first two landings were fine.  On the third, he pulled out the power as we were on final approach and told me to do a "dead-stick" (i.e., power-off, simulated emergency) landing.  I managed to put the plane down just after the runway threshold.  As we took off for our fourth landing, I noticed him reach into the back seat, grab my log book, and do some writing.  I was pretty sure I knew what that meant:  He was endorsing my logbook so that I could do solo flights at Wiley Post airport and in the local area.  After the landing, he asked me, "do you have a photo ID and your Student Pilot Certificate with you?"  I answered in the affirmative, and he said, "okay then, I want you to taxi us over to parking.  I'll hop out and you will do two touch-and-go landings and one landing to a full stop.  Then come back and park the plane."  

He hopped out, and reminded me, "the plane is going to take off a lot more quickly without me in there with you.  Have fun!"  I told him I would definitely have fun.

My first solo was fine--my landings weren't perfect, but they weren't bad, either.  I came back to park, my instructor came outside to meet me and asked me how it felt.  I considered saying something along the lines of "I never realized just how boring it makes things to have you in the plane," but thought he might take that the wrong way (despite his quick and good sense of humor).  So I told him it was insanely fun--which it was.  He said that he and my backup instructor had come outside to watch.  I'm glad I didn't know they would be watching, because that would have made me a bit nervous, I think.  

Then it was time for the ceremonial Post-First-Solo picture (below).  Look at that beautiful sky.

Since then, I did another solo.  This one was 1.1 hours long.  I practiced ground-reference maneuvers in the practice grounds, and then flew to El Reno airport where I practiced short- and soft-field takeoffs and landings.  I did about 7 or 8 there, and then, when I realized I was in danger of making my instructor's next student wait to start her lesson, I got back in touch with Oke City Approach and told them I was headed back to Wiley Post.  I managed to grab video of that flight, and I plan to post that as soon as I've edited it down.  Something tells me you don't want to watch me go through checklists, and that you'd prefer something closer to six than sixty minutes in length.

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When it's time to either find one with, or celebrate the life we all share, there are plenty of religions for that.  Too many reasons to count that you and I don't resonate with the religions of our great-great-great grandparents.  But that's not to say we can't re-link -- connect -- as was always the purpose of religion… in our own way, in whatever way we like, really.

One way I have found this recently is in a relationship between two songs.  Both about relationships, neither supposed to be about the other (just like in any relationship, … the one isn't supposed to 'be about the other,' as much as relate to it).  I don't know to what extent the artists conceived a relationships between these two songs in particular as I have found one. But I don't think that mattters.  I don't think you should either.   Just listen

Feist - The Bad in Each Other  (Metals)

Feist - The Circle Married the Line (Metals)

(it turns out you can stream at least part of the album here ... the rest can be found on Rdio, iTunes or Amazon mp3 I'd guess (though I only know Rdio for sure).

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See the full gallery on Posterous

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I saw Senna today at the Broadway theater in Salt Lake.  What an amazing movie.  It was composed entirely of archival footage (including Senna-family home movies, as well as ESPN and Formula One archive clips) and told the story of a true hero, in a fast-paced, brilliantly composed film that no fictional thriller could ever come close to matching.  It debuted in Brazil, and has seen theatrical release there, and in Japan. (And now in the U.S. at Sundance).  I hope, for the forces of good, that Universal Studios gives this film a broad theatrical release in the U.S.  It will go to DVD/Blu-Ray, but it would be an amazing shame if it went to DVD/Blu-Ray without first being in theaters, on a big screen, with big surround-sound speakers.  Ayrton Senna's story deserves nothing less than to be told in hundreds of theaters nationwide, and this movie is the only way it should be done (not through a dramatic recreation … which, the director Asif Kapadia told us in the post-screening Q&A, once almost came about.  Apparently Antonio Banderas was quite keen on playing Senna).

So, please, contact Universal and tell them that you want to see Senna in a U.S. theater.  Then, go see it when it is released and feel good about having done a part in bringing what is truly a masterpiece to the public.

By the way, the music was amazing.  Way to go Antio Pinto (who may or may not just happen to be another native son of Brasil).

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It seems to me that knowing that you're doing something to help people makes one feel good, even if there isn't a lot of effort one has to exert to be helpful.  It's quite a boon to be able to contribute to society on an ongoing basis, without having to do anything more than a quick one-time action.

You can find just that kind of opportunity with the World Community Grid (WGC).  It's a project sponsored by IBM, with heavy contributions from Stanford.  Here's how it works:

• You follow this link and download the software -- it's called "BOINC" (PC, Mac, or Linux)
• You install the software, somewhere along the way creating an account by just giving your e-mail and creating a password
• then,
  • Option A (for people who like to fiddle around):  edit whatever options you'd like in BOINC, including deciding which specific projects you'd like your computer to work on (e.g., curing AIDS or Cancer; creating clean energy; increasing access to clean water), if you don't want it to do a little bit of all of them
  • Option B (for people who want to just install the software and forget about it): move on to the next step
• Now, BOINC will do its thing.  Namely, the central server sends it a big math problem to work on, and it starts crunching numbers (though never at the expense of your computer's performance while you're using it -- unless you're an Option A person and set it to purposefully use resources even when you're at your computer).  When it's done, it sends the results back to the main server where it uses that information to solve a much bigger math problem.  
• This is called 'Distributed Computing' because the task is distributed among numerous computers, and the result is then assembled.  It's nice because your computer spends a lot of the day just spinning, with the processor literally wasting process cycles.  With BOINC installed, those otherwise wasted cycles go to very good use.

Now, I should mention one thing:  That link up there?  if you follow it, by default WCG will ask you if you want to join the "XtremeSystems" WCG team.  I'm a member of that team, and would love it if you'd join even if you aren't an XtremeSystems community member (XtremeSystems is a community for computer hardware enthusiasts, and specifically those who like to tweak and / or overclock their computers).  But, even if you find another team, or don't join a team at all -- I just know you'll be happy when you check BOINC once every day or so, and see the progress that you've contributed to various projects.

P.S.  There's no money in this for anyone -- points are just for keeping track and motivating people.  And team affiliations can be changed at your whim.

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Screaming.  Meanness.  I don't like either of these things.  So it's a tad poetic that the solution to a now year+ old problem would be something called the Screaming Meanie. 

After over a year of complete inability to wake up unless physically shaken by someone (and even then—and I'm not joking—it got to the point where I had to pre-authorize the use of ice-water dousing as a threat … and in many cases, actual device … for getting me out of bed once semi-lucid), despite trying what I thought was everything (a VERY LOUD alarm clock, as advertised, and as experienced by me while awake), a computer-based alarm that would play a sound file I had recorded saying "WAKE UP, GET OUT OF BED NOW. YOU NEED TO WAKE UP, GET OUT OF BED …" peppered with sounds from the "Annoying Ringtones" and also "Alarms" sections of Ringtone Feeder (I had one with a little girl saying "Wake up.  If you don't wake up right now I'm going to scream. One, two, three, [little girl screaming]".  None of this worked.  Recently I was facing a period of time when I would not have anyone around to physically wake me (no, wake-up call services, even when set to ring several phones, even when those phones are right by the bed, didn't work), so I set out to find something to save me from days of waking up at some variable time between 2 and 6PM. 

Luckily, I found the Screaming Meanie 220.  (And I'm glad I got the 220, which stands for 220dB, the loudest setting on the clock. The 220 model allows you to select between low, medium, and loud, with loud being 220dB, and medium being 110dB, with 110dB being the maximum setting of the "standard" Screaming Meanie.  More on why I'm glad I got the 220 in a moment).  

It worked!

With one hitch:  when I had it next to my bed, I heard it, clumsily turned it off without opening my eyes, and fell back asleep.  I was now concerned:  If I moved it away from me, so that I'd have to get out of bed to turn it off, would it still be loud enough to wake me? Yes! Yes it was. Even this morning, when I had fallen asleep with closed-end headphones on; the alarm was audible through the headphones and woke me up.  Quite a miracle.  I'm not sure if my cohabitants enjoy the shrill 220dB alarm, so maybe this will be reserved for special occasions.  

I'm particularly glad that even though I was initially on the fence, I went for the 220 instead of the 110, because testing the alarm on 110dB mode proved that it was not loud enough for me.

Maybe, even if you're usually ok but sometimes sleep through the alarm, the $35 the alarm costs would be worth it. Even if only for the peace of mind that comes with knowing that you'll be awake when you need to be, if there's something important to be awake for. :D  

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I am not fond of hippies, long-hairs, dopie fiends or alcoholics.  I suggest each and every person in a supervisory category (from driller up to me) eliminate these people.

Not sure I've ever seen "long-hairs" used non-sarcastically before, but there you go.  From the many, hilarious, "Texas Oil Memos", courtesy of the wonderfully horrible boss Mr. — excuse me, OWNER — Edward Mike Davis. 

The first one's free.  The rest are over at Letters of Note. (found at BoingBoing via Fever [which will also make you happy]).

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There's Gdgt for gadgets, Google stalking for general information, but where are your stalkers to go if they want to know what books you like, what topics you ponder, and (ahem) what site you might spend too much time using to tell people what books you like and what topics you ponder?  As I found out recently, it's GetGlue (that link will take you to my profile).  You can integrate your profile with Twitter and Facebook (though I found out the hard way that if you're not careful, you can tweet some seemingly random stuff, way too frequently); there's a "sticker" / badge reward system to keep you coming back for your pats on the back, and a "Guru" feature that leaves you clamoring to be the annointed expert on your area of choice (or sometimes, not your area of choice.  I found out that since I was the first person to write a more-than-a-few-sentences review of the Long Trail in Vermont, GetGlue automatically made me the Guru, even though I hadn't asked.  With the topic of Monopoly Pricing, a simple one-sentence post on the topic was enough to qualify me as a Guru.  I can assure you I'm a guru on neither of these topics).  

In addition to the badge/sticker system, this GetGlue shares even more with Foursquare, Gowalla and Loopt Star:  you can "check in" to tell people that you're reading a particular book, watching a TV show, pondering a topic, watching a movie, etc.  In the vein of Gdgt, there's also a big component where you tell GetGlue what you do or don't like in a particular subject area (for instance, "Topics / Web Apps").  And in addition to "liking" and "disliking" things like TV shows, you can vote on the usefulness of other users' reviews or comments.

One interesting hitch to the auto-Guru feature is that it will only make you a Guru when you "like" a particular item.  I "disliked" Google Checkout, wrote a lengthy, fact-based review and history of the service, and then asked Glue to put me up for a manual vote of users to appoint me as a Guru.  Then on a lark, sensing it might work, I changed my "dislike" to "like," and bingo: I was the new Guru.

I found GetGlue through the iPhone app, but the web platform is much more robust and gives you a lot more flexibility.

A cute feature is that once you've accumulated 7 stickers, you can order meatspace stickers to be sent to you via mail.  I did so.  And in the process, gave them my address.  And they have a ton of my personal taste info.  A marketer's dream.  They *did* promise to only use my address to send me the stickers, and I put an identifying variable in the address I provided them, so it'll be very clear if I ever receive mail as a result of having given them my info.

GetGlue is fun.  The Suggestion engine, which attempts to tell you what you might like based on what you've already told it, doesn't work very well, and is lightyears from Netflixs', for example.  And since there's such a broad array of topics, and since users easily wander from one area to another, rating items, you don't get the "expertise" that you do on a more focused site like Gdgt.  But, GetGlue is fun.  And that might be enough to keep it churning for quite some time.

My GetGlue home screen:

Update Jan 9 2011:  It turns out that the "This content is no longer available" notice above is both indicative of my having linked to an off-site image that was apparently killed, and also an apropos eulogy to Glue's presence in my life.  I haven't touched the app or site in quite a while.  You may very well get a kick out of it, so by all means give it a try if what I wrote above sounds fun to you.  But I can't say that I'll bet you'll be a long-term user.  

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I took a course in college on Microfinance (the practice of giving relatively--in the terms of the lender--small loans to poverty-stricken people, with the understanding that the money will be used directly to finance a revenue-generating activity).  A microloan might, for example, go to a poor person who has the ability to make trade-worthy clothing, but does not have any capital to purchase textiles or a loom.

For years, microlending was the stuff of academia, or at best, practised directly by NGOs with presences in local impoverished areas.

But much as sites like Prosper.com changed personal lending in the U.S., the web has led to the flourishing of microlending sites that work with regional NGOs to distribute loans to capital-starved entrepreneurs. 

The first site that gained signficiant press was Kiva.com.  It works with dozens if not hundreds of local NGOs to allow individual lenders like you and me to make loans to specific entrepreneurs or groups of entrepreneurs all over the world.  One catch with Kiva is that the lender earns no interest (interest is paid by the borrower to the NGO, but the NGO keeps it for future operating budgeting), yet bears risk of default.  Think of it as a donation, with the possibility of zero out of pocket expense.  (click on image for larger, readable version)

As you see, I lost 13.05% of my "investment," but this is a far from typical experience.  A glance oer to the "Average" column shows that the typical loss rate is 1.73%.  The entirety of my loss was from a basket of loans that were sent through BRAC Tanzania, an NGO that apparently ran into problems sending money back to Kiva. 

Lenders do see the NGO rating, and at the time I lent, BRAC Tanzania was 4/5 stars.  This goes to show that you should treat a healthy percentage of your microloans as donations, and not expect to get them back.  I would certainly not lend any money that I couldn't afford to lose. 

By the way, notice that "Donations" tab" underrneath "My Portfolio"?  That's a way for you to donate money directly to Kiva itself, so it can continue its operation of running the site, and coordinating with NGOs.  Kiva will hit you up for donations at numerous points in the cycle, including the time at which you make a loan, and the time when you withdraw any repaid money to PayPal. 

At some point (I'm sure the information is out there and easy to find), another Microfinance site Microplace (that does pay a bit of interest back to lenders) was acquired by eBay.  With eBay's capital and savvy, they have room to really get off the ground.  At some point a number of months ago, I made a $20 loan through Microplace, and was astounded when I saw the following statistics when I checked the site yesterday:

(click on image for larger, readable version)

As you see, Microplace is claiming an average amount of $843 invested per user.  I'm not sure if they have a small user base and a few gigantic benefactos (eBay, for instance?) who have humungous portfolios and that's scewing the mean amount invested, but $843 per lender is quite remarkable compared to Kiva's $200 per lender.  One factor might be that Kiva users can very easily give gift certificates (I've done this myself a numer of times), and the recipients of these gift certificates can visit the site and use the amonut of the certificate to choose a borrower, and make a loan.  Maybe those kinds of users only loan the amount gifted through the certificate, and aren't as deeply invested in the process (no pun intended).

In any case, I can, with enthusiasm, say that if you have some money to spend, and you get a warm and fuzzy feeling from helping a specific person that you can choose from among dozens, take a look at Kiva and Microplace, and consider making a loan. youllbehappy you did. 

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Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) is a company I hadn't heard of until I saw their Zeppelin in an Apple store one day.  I dug a bit and found out that they make cream of the crop, audiophile-appeasing equipment of all types.  The Zeppelin is an iPod dock that also takes USB-in, and will fill a huge room with beautiful sound.  As with all B&W products, you don't want to play MP3's through the Zeppelin, though, as the Zeppelin produces music so true to the recording that you will hear and be distracted by the MP3's inherent compression-related imperfections.  Instead, use HD-AAC or other lossless formats like FLAC or ALAC.  

B&W just released their P-5 headphones, as well as their MM-1 near-field computer speakers.  When Wired magazine reviewed the P-5s, they for the first time ever said that their $200 rule should be broken (i.e., that even though these headphones cost more than $200, they were an excellent buy).  Both the P-5 and MM-1 are works of art as well as the best headphones and computer speakers I've ever used, respectively.  The same warning applies about playing MP3s through these beauties.  B&W has a "Society of Sound" through which you can download lossless (24-bit FLAC or 16-bit ALAC) versions of a wide variety of interesting music, and you get a complimentary 3 months of membership with each B&W device you purchase. After you hear 24-bit music through the P-5s, it'll be hard to go back.  You will probably want to go back through your old CD collection and re-encode all of your music in lossless (instead of MP3) format.  

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The Withings scale looks like a normal, albeit modern bathroom scale.  It measures body fat percentage, displays BMI, and accommodates multiple users.  What sets it apart is that it connects to your wireless network, and tweets your weight every time you weigh yourself, and sends all of the details (weight, BMI, body fat %) to the Withings servers, which you can log into directly to track things like your lean mass, fat mass, etc., or you can access this information through the Withings iPhone app (free).  The Weightbot iPhone app can also grab data from your Withings account, if you prefer that app over Withings' own.

I gave my Withings-linked Twitter account out to a few friends and a co-worker, and I have to say that I am tremendously pleased with the results.  Not only have I lost 20+ lbs in 1 month with ONLY a diet change (no extra exercise), but now every time I think about eating, I think about that scale and the fact that tomorrow, my weight will be broadcasted to those who'll hold me accountable.

The scale costs $159 from Withings directly, and you might be able to find a better price somewhere else. HIGHLY worth it for anyone trying to lose weight.

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For Mac users only (although inroads are being made for PCs; see, e.g., Mozilla's Prism):  Fluid.  This nifty little app lets you turn web sites into "apps" that reside in your applications folder (or any folder, really), and most helpfully, on the OS X dock.  

So you can have instant access to your favorite services, in fully-functional browser windows that you customize to be as large (and only as large) as the site requires.

Another neat option is to have a Fluid "stack", which method keeps your dock uncluttered, but does cost an extra click.

Here I've created a stack right next to my general Applications folder, and in this stack live all of my Fluid apps.  Let's face it:  The line between system-resident apps and web apps is largely one-dimensional these days, and it makes sense to have persistent, dedicated access to web apps in the same way we do for system apps.  Fluid rocks.

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The Perfect Host, a dark comedy / thriller starring David Hyde Pierce and John Cayne, written and directed by Nick Tomnay, is up there with my three or four favorite movies of all time.  DHP is masterful, the story is engrossing, and it really hit my sense of humor right on the sweet spot.  Thanks to some friends, I was able to catch a screening at Sundance.  I am hoping for a theatrical release so I can see it again — as Tomnay said during the Q&A after the screening, it's an entirely different ride the second time you see it, and I'm certain that's true.  This won't be for everyone.  I'd say that fans of Dexter are likely to enjoy, as well as The Usual Suspects devotees.  

P.S. Do yourself a big favor and stay as far away from synopses and spoilers before you see this one. 

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   An old high-school buddy works for 23&me, and when I saw their blimp at Long Beach airport my interest in the service was rekindled and I got in touch with him.  I trust him completely, so when he told me that they are really doing great work, I got one of the company's kits.

A few weeks after sending in a moderate amount of saliva, and I was presented with all sorts of information about my genome and the implications for my health and ancestry.  I was also given access to my raw genetic data, meaning that if I decide to go search pubmed and find something interesting about a particular gene, I can check to see whether I have a particular variation.  This means that I am not held back by 23&me's own analysis, which is nice even though they have a good pool of research and have been doing a good job of adding to it.  The entire endeavor of confronting your genes is a bit scary, but it's also thrilling and fascinating.  23&me does a great job delivering on the entire experience, from collection to analysis to presentation (very spiffy web interface).

  I don't think anyone really knows exactly what our genes say about us or our futures or pasts (I read recently about a 'ghost genome' that seems to determine the experssion of genes, so clearly the genes themselves are at most just part of the story), but I am really enjoying the experience of this perhaps narcissistic endeavor.  My mom & sister also used the service, and thanks to 23&me's sharing feature, we're able to compare genes.  If you're on the fence about 23&me, I say go for it.  If you do, send me a sharing request when you have your results -- it's always fun to peruse and compare with new people.

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Virginia Hoffmann is a wonderful person to call for help when you have a new puppy that you want to get started on the right track, when you have an older dog with years'-old agression or other problems, or anything in between.  Virginia uses all positive-reinforcement techniques, and these end up being not only the most effective for producing the desired behavior in your dog, but also foster a loving relationship between your dog and you.  I have looked forward to every session with her, as not only do we have fun even when handling difficult problems, but she is a delightful person to be around.  If you have a dog and want a quick tune-up or some serious repairs, I highly recommend that you contact Virginia at vhk9ed@earthlink.net, so long as you're in the New York City metro area.

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Amazon gives away a free mp3 every day.  Check it out: Amazon mp3 of the day. Or, you can just check out Amazon's entire list of free mp3's, some worth downloading!

Shoot, Amazon seems to have removed the dedicated pages for free music downloads.  They still do have a free song of the day, however, as well as other freebies. Either search Amazon for "free mp3" or click the image below and you'll see the free stuff

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I used to have a major problem -- I couldn't remember the name of this site.  I would try canoe.com, and other similar names.  But the correct name is http://kayak.com, and it's finally sunk in.  

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