Marcus Hamaker is The Sleepy Geek

I have often told myself that I don’t want to be bothered at the cottage. In case of emergency I have my cell phone that if standing on the right corner of the deck does just fine. Cell service has improved quite a bit in the last few years and at some level that even bothers me.

Red Bud Macro St. Donat Lac Croche

In the past year I have been really concentrating on this blog, getting involved in some start up podcast ideas with a buddy so really focusing on what I am doing with my online time. It is in this spirit that I am starting to ache for an internets connection when I am away from home. Most places we visit are connected but the cottage is obviously not. All my articles about the cottage in the past talk about a quiet place away from the internets but I am not ‘feeling it’ as much anymore. I want to make sure that I can keep up to date.

I have thought about getting high speed up there, but I don’t think that would work. Basically having high speed up there means that anyone coming up can use it and then the cottage loses something. There is something about a place where we can all go and be connected to each other without distraction.

As I write this I still am in a struggle. I want to argue both sides of the debate but it would sound like a crazy man talking to himself. I think what I need is a device that is better for web applications than my Blackberry but is not a full computer. Some would say the 3G iPad would be the answer but I would argue that it’s not. It might work in this case but I am not looking for a device that would work there but have no real personal benefit apart from there.

Perhaps a more advanced smart phone. I wonder if something would change if webkit were already active on the BB. My buddy uses Opera on the BB which is leaps better than the original browser but the iPhone and Android browsers are better. I know I am picky buy feh… if I don’t have fun using it, then I get bored quickly. Ramble, ramble, ramble…

In any case I think that the internets hard wired into the cottage is still out for me. There is no escape with connection. It would end up that people would bring their laptops to the cottage and then we would end up spending time with our machines instead of with each other. My wife would most likely bring up her machine to check her work email. That would just change the whole feeling.

How do you deal with this sort of thing? Is there a place where you go to disconnect – literally?

Geek on!

I originally thought that this was more commonplace for us Canucks than it was for our American brethren, but alas I have findings to point to the contrary. Yes it is true Canadians – Americans pay sales tax too. It’s just that the percentages seem to have one less digit than do ours.

In Canada taxes are calculated by federal sales tax, then provincial sales tax. Most provinces adopt a simple harmonized tax where they are added together to a round number like 15% and so calculations are not complex. I live in Quebec and they have given us the lovely prize of compounded tax. First your item costs $10, we then add the federal 5% for $10.50 then calculate the Quebec sales tax on the $10.50. I am sick of it to be honest. For the longest time we were static but now the federal government has lowered their tax a few times and it gets difficult to remember that it’s not $10 x 1.15025 anymore.

Come save me internets!!!

The pages comes in the form of a java applet from a group called Mind prod. They have an extensive number of applets available, but it was the tax calculators that got my attention from a Google search.

Canadian Tax Calculator
American Tax Calculator

These are excellent tools for someone who lives in an area where tax calculations are more than $5 on $100, but also very good for people who are traveling. Many of us buy things from other locations because we know of a deal there or we are on vacation in the area. It’s good to know that what we are buying really IS a good deal. It doesn’t matter how much the sticker cost is if when you add the tax there is a difference.

I also learned during the writing of this article that there are many states that also have local sales tax. I am not sure how the regions are split up but if you look at the website you will see that regions matter. This is definitely something to consider if you are staying in Maine for example. Great place to visit (we do often) but if we are going to make a purchase it will be in New Hampshire.

Another thing to consider is the exchange rate. Americans and Canadians traveling across the boarder experience this a lot. This of course doesn’t only apply to us but it’s something that I do every year, sometimes more than once a year. The best exchange page I have seen is from Oanda.

Happy traveling and Geek on!

Our family is preparing to go on vacation next week to Maine. We will be meeting my brother and his fiance there who went down a week early for 2 weeks. Today he called me and while we were talking we got the big idea for him to head over to a webcam that we know someone is running 24/7.

Sure enough after about a minute I hit a refresh and there they are standing in the parking lot.

Now I know this isn’t the best picture – I can’t even tell if it is really them by looking at it. Some of you might miss them after even your second look but they are there, standing in the parking lot behind the black car. To think that we are so connected in this world that it was as easy as a 300 yard walk for me to catch a glimpse into their vacation!

That’s why I am a geek. I think it’s amazing that today we can connect to each other when ever we want to. Today and tomorrow we have new ways to connect and the old ways get better. Too awesome.

Keep the beach warm and the waves high bro… I will see you in 3 sleeps :)

Geek on!

Despite the fact that individual countries in the European Union – France, especially – are trying to implement extreme measures against piracy, such as kicking file sharers off the Internet after three warnings, the European Union itself has spoken against such measures on several occasions.

via EU Says No To Kicking File Sharers Off The Internet.

I have written about Foxmarks in the past because it’s a great tool for auto-syncing your bookmarks across multiple computers. It is really one of the only reasons that I still use Firefox and not Safari or Google Chrome.

To the credit of the team at Foxmarks, they have been working on support for IE and Safari lately and have released versions of Foxmarks for Safari on OSX and Foxmarks for IE on Windows. Now comes a release of their new product called Xmarks. This is obviously designed as a move away from a Firefox only addin and allows them to market their product for other platforms. I am excited about this move because it allows them to move towards support for even more browsers. I think I might use Chrome if they would support it, and I already use Safari sometimes when on OSX. The best thing they can do is support more browsers because most people use a specific browser for a reason. Many of us our stuck with IE at work and to have that support is already a huge leap.

But let’s get it straight, they didn’t only change the name :) This is a complete rebranding with a completely new site. I suggest you take a look as you will notice a totally refreshed look. In an email they sent to me as I was already using Foxmarks, they listed these as their primary updates:

1. Smarter Search
Xmarks will highlight the three sites in your Google results that have been bookmarked by the most people; this is a quick and easy way to tell which sites are most valued by real people like you.

2. Site Info
Xmarks adds a small blue information icon in your browser location bar. Click it to learn more about the site you are on and see recommendations for the top five similar sites. This is a great way to uncover the best of the web.

3. Xmarks.com
Visit Xmarks.com from any browser to write your own site reviews and to see even more similar site recommendations.

They were smart to have included us in an early step of their rebranding and it is great for their planning. They have taken the time to create a simple survey for existing users to guide them to prioritzing their updates. If you are a user you will receive an email with your link to the survey, if not I would head over to their forums to voice your opinion!

I have a son who is starting to use a computer and like his dad, getting very comfortable with it :) Makes me happy but given that he’s 4, yet I am weary of a mis-click or a something popping up on his screen if he is on the internet. Even when you are watching your kids on the internet these days, even sitting right beside them, there is still a chance that you end up somewhere that was unintentional by the child and not foreseen by you.

KidZui is in the business of making an alternative browser for kids. What is amazing about this kid product is that it is geared towards the child. The browser interface is something that I am sure my 4 year old will like (and we’ll be getting that installed soon) but something that would make you or I want to use a crayola crayon on the LCD. Their other huge selling point in my eyes is that instead of limiting the websites that they feel are negative or could be deemed inappropriate, the took the opposite approach. They have white listed sites that they feel are of good value for kids and parents. Their reviewers are “trained parents and teachers” so that makes me feel good about the filtering.

I am new to the service, but I think it has been around for some time. I found it because it is now free and they seem heavy into a marketing campaign to let us all know.

Check it out, it’s free! :)