Tretakoff Musings

A while ago, I wrote a piece on my Palm TX , and how it replaced so many other devices I had. I am further making it an independent gadget, with QuickNews . QuickNews is an RSS reader for the Palm, but it also automatically can "wake up" and download the latest RSS feeds you subscribe to. Better, it handles Podcasts natively. So, no more complicated podcasts syncing with Windows Media Player, or manual copying to the 1GB card. Instead, now, every day, my podcasts are downloaded and waiting for me, without any PC or Mac. Slick!

It's a new year. Time for resolutions, and the most popular: lose weight. I'm no exception: I lead a, well, let's call it what it is: a "sedentary lifestyle." I haven't worked out in years. This year, I couldn’t take it anymore: that had to change. I started with the easiest, lowest cost exercise program I could think of: walking. Every morning, I got up, and went for a walk in our neighborhood. Sounds easy, right? Except we live in a special section of the Marin Headlands , part of the Golden Gate Nature Preserve: our street alone rises and falls over 200 feet! Going for a walk is a serious workout. However, I persevered. One of the benefits of where we live is that we have close access to the trails that cover the Headlands. In 10 minutes, I can be on a trail that overlooks the entire Bay: Mt. Tamalpais to the North, Mt. Diablo to the East, and San Francisco to the South. Isolated, you can see the Pacific just past the legendary Golden Gate. I love those tra...

Easy, right? Chopsticks. :-) Seriously, I love sushi. Amy has come to love it, as well, after years of resistence. The texture, the flavor, the ritual: it's a great sensual experience. For some folks, they can't get past the "raw fish" thing. But for many others, they just find it intimidating, and it can be: there are rituals, secret code words, and more. Luckily, this fellow has created a guide on how to eat sushi, from picking the restaurant, to ordering, to eating. It's a comprehensive look at the way to eat sushi that, even after 15 years of sushi consumption, I learned quite a bit. I'll still never get my mother and stepfather to go try it again, but at least he liked the wasabi! Our favorite sushi places: Sushi Ran Ebisu Hotei (technically, a Japanese restauarant, but they get the sushi from Ebisu: great if there's a massive wait at Ebisu) Yu Sheng (Yes, it's chinese & japanese but REALLY good, inexpensive suhi. Try the crab special!)

Some people, like me, have no memory. Others are just the opposite: they never let you forget a thing. ;-) And then, there's Lani: she remembers everything , especially actors, movies, and television shows. Got a question on that guy who was in that movie about that thing? Screw IMDB : Lani? Now, she's started a blog, mostly focusing on these movies. On a side note, she spent a decade or so working for The Sharper Image (as did I), but unlike me, she remembers all of it. Every person. every name, every day. If any ex-TSI folks read this, go ahead and try to stump her...I dare you. :-)

The world of online gaming and I are not well acquainted, as I have very little spare time for such, but I am fascinated by them. In games like Everquest, there is an entire economy, and it spills over into the "real world:" people buy and sell goods in the game, on eBay and the like. Now comes this book, Only A Game: Online Worlds and the Virtual Journalist Who Knew Too Much , where jounalist goes undercover in this world, only to expose the seedy underside...and get booted by the company that runs it!

Many of these Mash-ups are kinds silly (The Yahoo Maps/Pirate Map one, for instance), but some are downright brilliant (the Craigslist rentals/Google Maps one). Here's one that straddles those two: fun, but useful: PackageMapper.com . Want to see where your package is? Let Google maps show you!

This has to be a first. egoSurf lets you see what Google thinks of you, and presents it in a nice, easy to use meter. Type in your name, and watch it work. For me, it was a little disheartening. :-)

Thanks to Google Video, you can view one of the best humorous and great fan movies made. TROOPS is a 10 minute movie, set in the Star Wars world, but in the COPS tv show format. Quality is excellent. I forgot all about this gem! Read more at video.google.com/videop...

Well, my long-coveted Woot Bag 'O Crap arrived today. And, as promised, it's crap. Allow me to regale you with the riches that is my long lusted after Bag: What can I say? These guys are fun, and don't bullshit. Better luck for me next time!

If you've read this blog every so often, you see I focus on the Sports Guy a lot (Bill Simmons). Ever wonder how to get up to speed on the wisdom of The Sports Guy? Look no further: Welcome to the glossary , which will get you right up to speed.

If you were ever a Mac enthusiast, the name Guy Kawasaki does not conjure images of a motorcycle caricature, but a passionate, insightful leader. Guy was at the forefront of Apple's expansion into the everyday, in the 80's and early 90's. After a long silence, he has started his blog , where he recounts his experiences as a venture capitalist. For instance, in providing guidance on an optimal PowerPoint presentations, he advocates no more than 10 slides: 1. Problem 2. Your solution 3. Business model 4. Underlying magic/technology 5. Marketing and sales 6. Competition 7. Team 8. Projections and milestones 9. Status and timeline 10. Summary and call to action Not a revolutionary man, just a smart one. And worth reading.

With tonight's final Dallas Cowboys game (and a big congrats on a promising start to next year!), I realize I forgot to mention that, for the first time in about 10 years, I actually sat down and watched a full Monday Night football game: the last one on ABC. In reality, it's hardly the "last" anything: the game is moving to ESPN next season. In a world where 96% of the country views TV on satellite or cable, it's just a different channel. However, it made me think: why had I not sat through a single, continuous MNF in 10 years for me? This used to be an EVENT: you'd plan your week around it. Heck, when I was managing retail, I made sure I was off or late on Tuesdays, just for that! It was somehow a shared importance: it transcended football, transcended sports: it was one of the few national requirements. So, why had I not watched a full game in 10 years? Partly, it was the move to California: there is still something so strange about waking up late on a Sun...