good wallpaper site

check it out... i'm always looking for new wallpapers for my desktop and laptop computers (my desktop has 3 monitors and my laptop is a wide screen at 1680x1050). so, while browsing around this evening, I found this site: eWallpapers.
this is one of the best wallpaper sites i have seen. they have a really nice "web two point oh"-like design with Ajax style star ratings like Netflix started years ago.
i definately recommend this site to anyone looking for wide screen wallpapers, though not necessarily multi-monitor images, though.

one very notable thing that loved to see on this site was how they put banners over their images as layers with transparent images over other images. it's a very simple concept, but places like Amazon use server-side image processing to get their banners to overlay their product images. i guess i just like to see how people can keep moving things away from the server and onto the client more.

fisheye

i love this article. titled "Development Diary: Taming the Fisheye," the article outlines the development of a coming web UI control/"widget" that the development team for the company nitobi built modeled after the Mac OS X dock. it's a really cool article. i've seen a few different implementations of this, one of them being in the Dojo toolkit. The thing i like best about this article is the reference to University of Maryland's HCI Lab. this blog article is a good example of HCI and UI research and the positives and negatives that result from this type of interface "widget."

superbikes...

ducati, yamaha and suzuki came out with some insane bikes for 2007. the two i am really impressed with are ducati's 1098 and yamaha's r1, which has once again outdone last year's r1.

the ducati 1098 to the right has an impressive 160 hp @ 9750rpm (ducati.com)

the 2007 yamaha r1 has a crazy amount of power: Without induction,132.4 kW 180 hp @ 12500 rpm / with induction, 139.0 kW 189 hp @ 12500 rpm (from http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za)

check out this promotional video from yamaha:

firebug

so ever since I started developing web applications that utilize Ajax technologies, I've been using Firebug to debug my client-side code and pages. i must say, if you have not used this plugin for Firefox, you have to get it! it's such an awesome tool, even if you're just designing pages. it really shines when it comes to Javascript and the XHR. the tool allows you to view the individual HTTP requests that are made when loading a page as well as the XML HTTP requests that are made during the experience on a page. It also allows you to interactively view the current page's DOM, view/edit the CSS from the page and view the loaded Javascripts. This is a must-have tool for any Ajax developer (in addition to having Firefox).

casino royale

i went to see the new Bond movie last night - Casino Royale. it was surprisingly good, i must say. a lot of good action scenes, especially the opening one.

i was reading Engadget the other day, a new site about new technology that's coming out, and they mentioned that James Kim of CNET is missing. it's a terrible thing i hope that everything will be okay with the family.

my motorcycle

so this is my motorcycle: a 2005 yamaha r6. i love this thing. i've had it now for a few months after learning to ride on a 1996 suzuki katana 750. the katana was about 100 horsepower and somewhere around 450 pounds. with my new bike, it has something like 123 horsepower and is at least 50 pounds lighter. it's pretty crazy when you think about it. i took it up to 148 mph the day after thanksgiving this year. i don't know what i was thinking - i'm not sure if i will ever go that fast again. there's more photos of my bike on flickr.

anyways, i was thinking the other day, that i needed to get some better clothing and shoes to wear when i'm riding because sneakers wouldn't really protect me that well. i have an Alpinestars leather jacket that's made for riding but i need to get some better boots and pants. i found this place to be an awesome resource for shopping for riding gear and accessories in San Diego: BuyMoto.com. They seem like an awesome place - they do everything but sell bikes from what i've heard. it might a pretty nice place to go to so you don't have to deal with the sales people at dealerships.

oh yeah, i went to see the San Diego Chargers game today against the Oakland Raiders and saw the Chargers beat the Raiders 21-14. it was a little too close to call when it came to the 4th quarter but they ended up picking up the slack and making an impressive come back.

well, that's my ponderings for today.

Chumscrubber?

so i played some really competitive basketball today with some coworkers. after i got back, i was completely dead tired and ended up just taking it easy for the rest of the afternoon.

i just finished watching a movie called The Chumbscrubber. it was a very strange movie - very well made a good videography, but really strange. i think i actually liked it because it had a similar plot flow as American Beauty did. anyways, it had one of those building plots that really keeps your attention and peaks with a good conclusion.

i've been thinking... people are funny in their ways. we all have these little quirks to us and when you date someone, you find out, immediately or more subtly, whether those quirks are bearable or intolerable. i've found as i get older that i can determine wheather these idiosyncrasies are standable. i'm dealing with a relationship now that is borderline, though, and it's really throwing me a curve ball. i have been keeping things in limbo and it's coming close to the time when i really need to make a decision.

time to go...

new blog...

so I've decided to start a blog. I have never done this before but I've been reading blogs for some time now. My goal is to write to this daily about the many random things going on in and around my life.