A Sailor's Life For Me

... until I'm packed onto a plane headed for Illinois. Single digits. Unreal.

That's pretty much the one thing going on right now. Other than that, life as usual.

Today is my 4th wedding anniversary... :)

And I got a shiny new 23" flat screen monitor for it. 1920x1180 at 32bit highest is AWESOME.

First, a few technological items to consider.

1) The iPhone; a beautiful piece of tech if only it weren't AT&T only without voiding the warranty.

2) Laser keyboards: see here for details. It's a little bigger than a Zippo but projects a full size keyboard that you can 'type' on on any hard flat surface.

3) Flexible displays: see here for an example and a really good picture. Note the date on that article as being 3.5 years ago; that e Ink tech is what is used in Amazon's Kindle. Very low refresh rate but low power requirements too. If they could get that refresh rate working faster it could work as a regular display.

4) Voice recognition software similar to what's in cell phones now, but more powerful with the ability to run computer programs; probably the best known is Dragon NaturallySpeaking

5) Satellite internet, 4G wireless network, WiFi Hotspots, and other technology like this.

I imagine a future where I can be sitting at a cafe, or camping in the middle of the woods, and be able to use an almost real time linkup to talk about what I'm seeing, write blog posts or other things... heck, maybe even voice-blog about a rock climb while doing it, without having to use hands for typing. And all of this tech would fit in the pockets of a pair of cargo pants.

Yep, living the dream. Fever dream, perhaps, but the dream. ;) We're getting a new entertainment center tomorrow, so I spent the afternoon moving furniture around to make a space for it. Worked this morning... every day I work there I keep thinking that it's one day closer to leaving that soul sucking dead end job and moving on to something better. There are some people I'll miss, including some customers that I've gotten to know over the years, but I won't miss the lack of respect for ability and initiative. Sad to say, but I think the thing I'll miss the most is the discount. Then again, with the relative salary increase, it more than makes up for the discount.

I recently (as in about a month or two ago, whenever the release was that I don't remember) purchased a Nintendo DSi. Neat little machine... game system with touch screen and stylus plus digital camera (about 3 Megapixel IIRC), SD card slot to move the pictures around, and an Opera based web browser (no flash or videos but I can read email on it). The games they've put out for it bring me fond memories of yesteryear as they've redone some old classics like Chrono Trigger and the older Final Fantasy titles, and they've also taken advantage of the unique interface to make some new interesting games. For example, the newest Zelda uses the stylus exclusively... you 'slash' across the screen to swing your sword, and move the stylus around for Link to follow. So, if anyone out there has a hankering for old school games like turn based RPGs or good puzzlers, some with a new twist, you might want to pick one of these up.

Spotted tabby cat: one adoption fee
Small empty cardboard box: free (other than the cost of the item inside)
Spotted tabby cat trying to get inside empty cardboard box for hours: priceless.

So... this is Dreamwidth. Interesting. It's like LiveJournal was, but with more stuff and less overbearing officiousness.

This journal may be sporadic in its updates, as I will be shipping out for basic training in the US Navy on July 22nd, followed by ridiculous amounts of classwork for the Navy's Nuclear Program. Still, while I'm home up until that time I should be able to post a bit.