Jason Schramm

Threadless $9 Sale Today 9/9/09

Jason Schramm — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:15:15 +0000

Threadless is having a $9 sale on all t-shirts for today, 9/9/09. I just bought a ton. Go do it!

DLink Router: Getting IP Address But No Internet

Jason Schramm — Sat, 23 May 2009 17:52:10 +0000

I just solved a problem and thought you may find it helpful. I couldn't access the internet and pressing the little reset button on my D-Link wired router solved the problem.

I have multiple computers connected to a D-Link wired router. One of these computers stopped being able to connect to the internet suddenly yesterday. It just stopped working correctly and couldn't even get to Google. I ran through more steps than I needed. I first checked that the software firewall on the machine wasn't causing a problem. I released and renewed the ip address multiple times. And I tried Windows XP's "repair connection" feature which flushes out some of the cached data and replaces it with new data from your connection, in the hopes that outdated data had somehow become stuck in the machine.

What had me stumped was that I was getting an ip address but I could not connect to the internet. I couldn't even connect to the router. I was receiving exactly 1 packed from the router (presumably with the ip address) and nothing more (you can see this in the connection details where it shows Sent and Receive packets). Could squirrels have chewed through part of the cat 5 cable? Is that even possible with it still running, albeit incorrectly?

In the end the solution was pressing the little "reset" button on the back of the router. I have no idea what happened to it that would keep one machine working fine and one not, but it works again... for now. I hope that helps someone else out there. Always try resetting the router. But don't hold down the reset button because it will erase your settings and bring you back to the factory defaults before you set things like passwords. So to recap: briefly press a router's reset button whenever something weird starts happening with your connection. If that doesn't solve it you have bigger problems to deal with.

Facebook In Reality

Jason Schramm — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:10:36 +0000

What if Facebook was real-life? This video shows it.

New site, sort of

Jason Schramm — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 05:16:04 +0000

I upgraded the site and started building a new design for it. Some parts are in place. A book library section for the books I read still needs to be setup. And I will be tweaking the layout over time. The key parts are in, except for the book library. Those would be a focus on my Flickr photostream, productivity, and a "more" dropdown that displays all other main categories. Hopefully this new design and focus will make it easier for me to post quick updates. Only time will tell.

2009 JasonBlogs Redesign Ideas

Jason Schramm — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:31:27 +0000

I was just tinkering with an idea for a new site design. Take a look and let me know what you think. The third one is the same as the second one, but the "eyelids" in the o's are more prominent. I see a mascot in the o's.

Which do you like best?

First:

Second:

Third:

Issues: The Series trailer

Jason Schramm — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 15:47:26 +0000

Check it out. Show comes online January 7th in the evening.

Issues: The Series

Time Management Lecture with Randy Pausch

Jason Schramm — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 02:42:50 +0000

I just watched a great time management lecture from the late Randy Pausch. You can find it at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5784740380335567758. The slides are at http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/Randy_Time_Management_UVa_2007_slides.html if you want to follow along. The video is about an hour and a half long. It offers some great tips.

SightMapper: Now with Mileage Radius Circles

Jason Schramm — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 14:12:18 +0000

I had the idea recently to add circles to SightMapper. The way it works is that if you specify a radius in miles a circle will be placed on the map when you add that sight to the map. If you don't want a circle just leave the radius field blank. Try it out at SightMapper. Let me know what you think.

Issues the Series Promo: Jared

Jason Schramm — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:12:18 +0000

The second promo from Issues the Series. Can't wait till the real episodes go online. Go check it out.

Youtube Link

Issues the Series Promo: Jackson

Jason Schramm — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:10:29 +0000

Here's the first promo for Issues the Series, a new web series that is starting soon. Check it out.

Youtube Link

R.I.P. DigitalLife

Jason Schramm — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 02:08:30 +0000

Around this time each year I should be in NYC being accosted by gadget sellers. But unfortunately that is not to be; DigitalLife was canceled for this year. They didn't think they could put a good show together so they gave up and turned it into a gaming event. I sure will miss it. I will especially miss that Napster booth from either last year or two years ago. The nicest thing was having my very own tech convention on the east coast.

Artificial Intelligence Thoughts: Turing Test

Jason Schramm — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:05:31 +0000

I was just reading the first chapter of John Battelle's "The Search" and he proposes a future where artificial intelligence is realized as an extension of search; coming from the breakthroughs in web search. It would be simple create a bot that would search the Internet for answers to any questions posed to it in a Turing Test (see definition). And if the answers happen to come out in a natural manner the tester could be fooled into thinking the bot is a human. Of course, this doesn't really solve the problem of AI. It passes the Turing test, but it isn't actually intelligent. Though it can learn from humans, it wouldn't know which answers available on the Internet are correct and which aren't.

My other idea for passing the Turing test is to create an AI wiki. Where people submit information in a specific format (noun + verb for example). The AI bot then uses NLP, Natural Language Processing, to parse a given question and look up the corresponding answer in the wiki database. The wiki angle would allow the populations of the world to contribute to the bot's wealth of knowledge. This would be more precise than using the entire Internet as a database, but it would take time and effort to be able to answer any question imaginable in any language. Is anyone already doing this?

Threadless $12 Dollar Back to School Sale

Jason Schramm — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:16:23 +0000

The Threadless back to school sale is back. Prices have recently gone up since they switched to better-quality shirts, so it's a $12 sale this time around. Hit 'em up for some nice shirts. I know I will. Sale should end soon. Possibly by September 7th, but don't delay.

Don’t Co-Sign a Loan for Another Person

Jason Schramm — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:30:39 +0000

I was just watching the Suze Orman show and she made it very clear not to co-sign a loan for another person. She has said this often and it is an important point that I thought I would share here. If you co-sign a loan for someone you are vouching for them and taking the responsibility. The person would not have gotten a loan otherwise if it wasn't for you. If they default on the loan they have no responsibility and it will hurt you and your credit. So don't get yourself stuck in this mess and learn to say no.

Computers Aren’t Going Away

Jason Schramm — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:16:00 +0000

There is all this talk about the Internet overtaking other technologies and reducing the need for a personal computer. I don't believe it. But again, what do I know? Ten years ago people were full of new ideas but the public wasn't ready for them. Now we have less kids going to college for computers and all of them are joined at the hip to their texting/twittering/facebooking cellphone/iphone/pda. Which in and of itself is entirely odd. You would think that the people who use technology the most would see its importance and be interested in creating the next generation. But they aren't. We have created a generation of self-absorbed consumers who have little interest in creating anything other than an entirely useless Youtube video.

The Recent Emergence of the Internet

Jason Schramm — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:26:52 +0000

It's easy to forget that the Internet only really began to rise 14 years ago with the introduction of Netscape Navigator. I was too young to appreciate it at the time, or to even really know about it, but if you think about it some of the biggest technologies we take for granted now were only created in the last 10 to 20 years. It makes me wonder about what is next and what challenges lie ahead. If the creation of Netscape gave birth to the Internet, it is now a child going to Kindergarten. What happens when the Internet enters High School? And then college? What will the Internet look like as an adult? Will it be well-adjusted or not? Will we look on our parenting with a proud feeling and fond memories, or will we be ashamed of ourselves?

Honk if you support our troops

Jason Schramm — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 02:44:23 +0000

Today I passed a bunch of people with signs reading things like "Honk if you support our troops." I was caught off guard and not used to honking when people show me a sign, but I definitely support the troops. I've been thinking about it ever since and wishing I honked. Consider this my apology to all those troops out there who I wish the best and I hope they come home soon.

Go check out America Supports You.

Father’s Day Gift Ideas from Amazon

Jason Schramm — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:21:58 +0000

Need an idea for a gift for your father? Father's Day is coming up fast. Only a week away on Sunday, June 15. Amazon.com has created a page with some gift ideas. Click the banner ad below.

Playing With Shading: Trees and Water

Jason Schramm — Tue, 20 May 2008 01:23:05 +0000

I started thinking about cell shading tonight and then followed a tutorial I found online for Photoshop (link to tutorial). In the end it came out different because I liked step 4 better alone. I might develop my Photoshop skills in my free time and post the results here.

Solar Light Suggestions Needed

Jason Schramm — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:04:01 +0000

I have been wanting to get some solar-powered lights for a while now. The ones I find online have reviews that range from them being cheap-looking, to poor quality, to poor receivers of solar power, to just plain bad. Does anyone have any experience with solar lights? Anyone who can lend a recommendation or suggestion.

To get the conversation started, I was looking at these Westinghouse stainless steel lights on Amazon (link).