January 29, 2005
Getting answers ...
Walt Mossberg's review of Answers.com caught my attention in the Wall Street Journal, especially when he noted that Answers is a product from GuruNet.
I purchased GuruNet when it first came out and really liked it, but the computer I was using at work was RAM challenged. It took forever to boot up, and I pulled GuruNet out of the startup menu to speed things up. It lost a lot of its value then, since it really needs to be running all the time to be valuable.
I'm already impressed with Answers.com. Just bunking around, I searched for "Jerry Garcia." It brought up several bios, ranging from very short to a Wikipedia entry. It also offered several worthwhile links, including a link to a 1972 Rolling Stone article that I spent about an hour reading.
Then I decided to try something a little more obscure, typing in the Irish bluesman "Rory Gallagher." Information was more sparse this time. All it had was a Wikipedia entry.
And finally, I picked out a name in the Gallagher Wikipedia entry, Richard McCracken, highlighted it and hit the hot key combo (comand-option-g is the default). A message came up saying:
"Richard McCracken is not one of the 1 million AnswerPages at Answers.com. Answers.com has AnswerPages for most words, phrases, places, famous people, companies, and more.
We suggest that you:
• Check the spelling of your term.
• Try a similar or related word or name.
• Click here to use Google to search for web pages containing the word(s) Richard McCracken.
Click here to view our directory of over a million topics."
That's where Answers.com's weakness is exposed. Its strength is that its not Google and doesn't flood you with links that may or may not be relevant. The info is presented quickly and in an easily digestible form. It's weakness is that it's not Google and doesn't flood you with links that can lead you to obscure info.
What I really like, though is that there's a Mac version, and when I downloaded it to try on my Mac, it appears to have all the same functionality as GuruNet -- without the fee. Basically, you underline a word in any document or web page, hit a hot key and get a definition, bio, etc.
Definitely worth trying ...
Now Playing: Nobody's Spoonful Jam from the album "Aoxomoxoa" by Grateful Dead
Posted by Bob Benz at 12:22 PM | Comments (3)
January 8, 2005
Control your contacts
I've stumbled across a cool tool for moving contacts and meeting dates from e-mails directly into my Outlook contacts and calendar with minimal keystrokes.
It's called Anagram. No Mac version, but if you're using PC Outlook it's definitely worth checking out. When you come to a meeting time or a sig in an e-mail, you highlight it, hit control-c twice and it automatically moves the meeting or contact info directly into your calendar or contacts. It does a really good job of fielding the data. You just have to make a few minor tweaks on occasion. It sounds like a small thing, but for someone who lives or dies by his e-mail, it's a godsend.
Posted by Bob Benz at 10:51 AM | Comments (0)
Another reason to hate business travel ...
As if there weren't enough reasons to hate being on the road, I now have a new one: I miss all the cool chaos that erupts at home. I'd have given anything to see this one ...
Lara was sitting on the couch watching TV Thursday night when our fearless cockatoo from hell, Sydney, hopped down off his cage and ambled into the living room. The two big dogs were out in the backyard, and only little yappy Mully was around.
Apparently, Syd was on a mission. He made a beeline for Mully, who initially stood his ground, yapping bravely. But Sydney is a big bird, and Mully is a big coward. The cockatoo proceeded to chase the yappy dog around the ottoman, past the couch and through the living room until Lara intervened, saving poor Mully's measly life.
I would have given anything to have witnessed this. I was afraid it was a once in a lifetime thing, but as I was eating breakfast this morning, I heard the familiar clopping of Sydney's feet on the tile floor. I looked over to see him peeking into the living room, presumably looking for Mully. But he spied Xena and Ozzy in the room, too, and beat a retreat back to his cage.
This could get interesting ....
Now Playing: Angel of Lyon from the album "Switchblades of Love" by Steve Young
Posted by Bob Benz at 10:46 AM | Comments (5)
January 1, 2005
A perfect start to the new year ...
During my recent time off, I've been venturing farther than Melton Hill Lake for hikes. For our New Year's Day hike, Lara, Xena, Ozzy and I drove up to Frozen Head State Park and hiked to the waterfalls. It was fantastic. Sunny. Warm. We had a great, relaxing start to 2005. Here are a few photos that I took while I was up there.
Our only incident was when I was letting the dogs run off their leashes, and they went charging toward a trio of rednecks, scaring the poor folks pretty badly. I tend to forget how big Xena is, and when she comes charging down a trail at you and you don't know for sure if she's friendly, it can cause alarm. The woman, clutching a little yappy dog and sporting a magnificent bouffant 'do, was clearly perturbed, but the kid and husband survived their encounter with the wild dogs of Frozen Head, so no harm was done. I promptly leashed the dogs and we continued on our way.
On Thursday, I took the dogs up there and the place was deserted. It was wonderful. About five minutes after we entered the woods, we saw two white-tail deer loping up the hillside, and later that day, we saw an entire herd, maybe 6 or 8 of them, crashing through the woods to get away from us. Watching those white tails bounce through the woods was truly sublime.
It's going to be tough returning to the work grind on Monday ...
Now Playing: I Shall Be Released from the album "Music from Big Pink" by The Band
Posted by Bob Benz at 7:38 PM | Comments (3)