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For my work computer, I upgraded the hard drive to an Intel X25-V 40GB (sucks that no one respects the GiB anymore, other than memory manufacturers), which has TRIM support and is well supported under Windows 7, so I took out the old HD to keep as backup and did a clean install on the new drive. Thinking that my legacy accounting software would be able to run under 7, I tried to install it to no avail. Of course I did install the 64bit version of Windows 7, so maybe that has something to do with it, but who knows.

I had read about a backwards compatibility mode in Windows 7, which is why I got the Professional version just in case, since you need at least that to run it. And fortunately my laptop was able to support Intel VT (which was actually obscured in the POST Behavior section of the BIOS setup) so after downloading and installing two pieces of software, had a virtualized copy of XP running.

XP Mode is actually pretty slick. You are automatically connected to your network, host drives and network drives function as mapped drives with clear labels, and printers are automatically discovered. You can even have applications launch directly from the Windows 7 environment. However, there is a trick to that. When you are in XP Mode, right-click on the start menu and select All Users. Your application much have a shortcut in there in order for it to show up under the Windows Virtual PC -> Windows XP Mode Applications list in the Windows 7 Start Menu. Or, if you have the option when installing applications, it must be installed for all users. So now that I have all the pieces in place and the settings configured corrects, it’s pretty easy to start up my legacy accounting software and have it run as a single window inside the Windows 7 host environment with almost the same look and feel as a native app. Kudos!

more info here.

Google and HTC released their new phone today called the Nexus One. A lot of info was leaked out about it. A few thoughts comparing and contrasting to the iPhone:

• Form factor is very similar. I think the iPhone got people away from a physical keyboard (for better or for worse) and the Nexus One is continuing that trend.  Less moving parts = less creaky and more reliable hardware
• New app marketplace. Since Apple created the App store, if you are going to create a wireless platform, you better have a place for 3rd party developers to sell their wares. Hopefully some of my most used apps will be ported over — Scramble, etc
• Apple is a hardware manufacturer that keeps a tight leash on its OEM’s, both to drive down cost and time to market, but also to keep a consistent look and feel. I’ve always balked at how much accessories for the iPhone costs, but they tend to just work. I use the iPhone a lot for it’s video output and I hope the accessory market for this phone is comparable.
• Lack of mult-touch is a big dissappointment

Fugly. The other choices. I would’ve chosen the current one we have, My Texas, or the Traditional Texas. We’re not some foofoo flowery pansy state. We’re talking Texas here. Get a manly plate design. Not this piece of crap. Can’t believe it was the overwhelming favorite. I plan on getting a custom plate next time with random letters. Blue letters on plain white background.

Here’s a link to Texas plates through the years.

Edit: After reading more about it,  I too think that it’s a ploy to get more people to spend on customized plates. I remember reading about custom plate penetration rates awhile back. Looks like Texas had the lowest rate (0.56%). Bastards are trying to raise it. I guess I’ll chime in and blame it on Rick Perry as well :-p.

Ever been one of those without AT&T’s visual voicemail? Think the voicemail transcribing and redirection based on rules are cool features of Google voice? Have a calling plan with a GSM based provider? Now you can forward your voicemails to Google Voice and have all those cool features. From your phone’s keypad enter the following and press the call button:

*61*123456789# (when you don’t pick up)
*62*123456789# (when you decline the call)
*67*123456789# (when you’re on another call already)

where 123456789 is your 10 digit GV number.

To cancel:

##61#
##62#
##67#

Found it here. (Dunno if the pingback worked…)

Additional GSM code links:

http://www.geckobeach.com/cellular/secrets/gsmcodes.php

http://web.telia.com/~u47904776/gsmkode.htm

T-Mobile commands:

http://www.maxoutput.com/djdj/t-mobile_commands.html

My friend Andrew and I were testing out the backend of Google voice today. Here are a few of our findings. (And please let me know if any of this is incorrect.)

• SMS Relay - GV is smart somewhat smart. If Party A txts Party B’s GV number from a non-GV number that’s associated with a GV number, it will show up in Party B’s phone/GV as Party A’s GV number. If Party A releases the association, then the txt appears from one of google’s 406 area code numbers.
  • Basically, all txts from others without a GV association will have a 406 area code and not be known to you — unsolicited behavior. It will however append the body of the message with the caller id of the sender. (Clever)
  • But, if you send a txt from the GV web interface to a number, any response will have the proper sender ID. Because GV now has a hook since you solicited the txt. If you send a txt from the GV web interface, any reply may have the same area code as the recipient, but it will not be the same number. In this case, the receiver’s name will be appended onto the body of the msg — solicited behavior.
  • The above two bullet points apply to numbers that you’ve never allowed GV to know about. I believe if there is past sms or calling activity to a number from within the GV website, it will remember that and use that caller ID instead of the 406 area coded number.
  • One more point. The reason everything is still routed through a Google owned number is so that they can keep a log of all your conversations. Only txts that originate from somewhere they do not know about (from your cell phone to another cell phone) will not be recorded.
• Calling the 406 number - (i’m not as sure on this) everyone has a 406 number associated with their GV that redirects the call or txt to the number that was chosen when you sign up for GV. It acts as an intermediary that intercepts all incoming transmissions and sends them to the GV number or the other numbers associated with the GV.
  • Just like the SMS relay, if you use a phone that is associated with a GV and you call the 406 number, it will go to that person’s cell.
  • HOWEVER, if your physical phone number is deleted (not just unchecked from being forwarded) in GV, you will get a “this call cannot be completed as dialed” message and will not be able to connect.
• Calling a number from within the GV website will ring your phone of choice first, then call the number you wish to reach.
• When calling a GV number via cell phone, your call timer starts immediately when you hear the first ring tone. This is a clue to tell you the number is being routed through GV because your actual cell/provider starts charging the moment routing begins.

A couple of other notables:

• Calls made through the GV website that connect to your cell phone still cost you money even though it’s an incoming call. This is unfortunately the way US cell service works right now. In Europe, incoming calls are free (caller pays).
• There is no mechanism to call from your computer. You must have a phone associated that you can use as a terminal.

Edited 2009-08-07 09:56 CST: Added more info on the SMS caller ID relay.

I am not a Brad Miller fan at all, but this is clearly a flagrant foul that the league says stands as called on the floor. Bullshit. Stu Jackson and David Stern, you are both fucking idiots. The NBA can do no wrong eh? Dwight Howard gets suspended a game for an elbow, but this is allowed? Just bullshit. Rondo was clearly going for his head and not the ball. Such inconsistent calls. The NBA has no integrity.

For Good Friday, I decided to have some friends over and cook up a fun meal. The menu was as follows:

• Tuscan-Style Artichokes
• Cast Iron Mussels
• Teriyaki Chicken Wings and Drums
• Garlic Roasted Potatoes on Rosemary Skewers
• Grilled Asparagus
• Double Cut Lamb Chops and Cucumber sauce

Shopping

We bought most of the ingredients at Costco. The mussels came in 5# sacks at the special kiosks they set out Fridays and Saturdays. I asked the lady about it and typically the seafood is flown in on Friday and most of it is sold out by Saturday mid-afternoon. Pretty neat, and makes me feel that their stuff is really fresh. I took a look at the lot tag on the mussels and it said that they were harvested the day before which only impressed me further. The wings we got from the fridge section and they were in 6 packs ready to be frozen. I got both a pack of wings and drumsticks thinking we’d need both. Lamb was the usual racks. Got three of em.

Preperation

Back at home, I took the mussels out of the bag and put them in a mixing bowl and put a moistened towel over it and placed a bag of ice over that. You never want to submerge shellfish in water as that will kill them very quickly. While prepping the chicken, I learned that the wing actually contains three sections — the tip, winglet and drumlet. I prepped them for marinating by separating them into the wings and drums and discarding the tips. The marinade recipe came from the Weber book and sat in the fridge for about 1.5hours.  The rest of the prep work was fairly straight forward and consisted of cleaning and mixing together other marinades.

Cooking/Grilling

For the mussels, I fired up the gas burner and put the cast iron skillet on it to heat up on high for about 5 min. After giving the mussels a quick rinse under water, I put a decent portion in a wok and tossed in chopped garlic, kosher salt and a good portion of oil. Tossed it a couple of times and put it on the smoking hot skillet. I then used the wok to cover the skillet and let the mussels cook and steam in their own juices. About 2-3 min later, they were opened up and the flavors succulently concentrated. IMO this was the best dish of the night. I got this idea from the cast iron mussels appetizer that was at a local Italian restaurant. They served it on a cast iron plate similar to a fajita plate. The chicken and potatoes I handed over to a friend to cook on the grill while I was doing the 3 batches of mussels. Later, I cooked up the lamb which were double cut portions. First time around they were undercooked (which is better than overcooked as you can always cook more but not cook less). And underseasoned. So the second round, I added some kosher salt and turned up the heat. After a couple of minutes I opened the lid and saw a flame on the catch pan underneath. Apparently the drippings from previous sessions combined with the fat of the lamb caused a fire to spew forth. I finished the lamb and poured the salt over the fire to put it out. Lesson learned — don’t neglect the catch pan. It should be cleaned every 5 times or so. Totally my fault.

Evaluation

As I said earlier, the mussels were probably my favorite. I suspect my guests liked it the most too. Next time I’ll have to find a way to keep the skillet clean for the subsequent batches as it was difficult to clean the juices that burned onto the pan and keep it from adding a stronger and stronger char to the next batches. I might add shallots next time and hit it with a shot of clarified butter just as i’m taking it off the pan to impart some more flavor.

The artichokes were a good idea, however it turned out to be undercooked and tougher than I wanted. I think parboiling then marinating then grilling would be a better route next time.

The chicken marinade was great and it turned out really well. No complaints here. The potatoes however, might benefit from a par boiling to make them moister or perhaps cooking at a lower temperature next time.

The lamb meat itself was good, but I spoiled it by not salting it enough. Probably going to utilize a meat thermometer next time until I can get the doneness down by feeling the meat (like I can with a steak). Gonna stay away from marinades and just go with garlic, salt, pepper, rosemary/other herb. And maybe try a leg of lamb instead.

Asparagus was ruined by a bad recipe. Way too much acidity. The reviews all gave it 5. Perhaps they have different tastes.

When I was planning out the menu, I didn’t want to just have everything be salt/pepper, but after the meal, I think it would’ve been a good way to go as each ingredient still has it’s own flavor that the salt and pepper merely enhance instead of homoginize. All in all, i’d give myself a C+/B- rating as nothing was burned or overcooked.

Postscript:

I added a link in the food reference section on mussels. The way I cooked the mussels is referred to as La Cagouille style. A very versatile ingredient with lots of flavor.