As all who know me are aware – I’m a fanatic gadget – gizmo freak.  The last post that I made on this subject, probably a year ago was either about the Amazon Kindle (One of my all-time favorite toys) or the Sonos home music distribution system (Also, one of my all – time favorite toys).

So, what’s been on my “Geek Radar” since those posts a year or so ago?  Well there are several; some are upgrades or advancements of the above themes, and there are a couple of new toys of interest.

First of all, let me say: “I Love-love-love my Kindle”.   I use it each and every day.  Well, there is talk of a second generation Kindle — the Kindle II which is rumored to be released in February 2009?  I don’t know how they could make it better (actually I do have a few ideas in that area), but I’m very anxious and excited to see what they do with the Kindle II.

The Sonos home music distribution system is in my opinion by far the best of it’s class.   It consists of a hand-held controller and at least one zone/room player.   The first zone/room player need to be connected/hard-wired to your home network router.   Subsequent zone/room players can be placed anywhere, and are wirelessly connected to the network.  There are two versions of the zone/room player, one is amplified for connecting to a regular set of speakers; the other version is un-amplified, for connecting directly to your stereo HiFi system or to a pair of powered speakers.  The music, in most any format you prefer, is stored on a pc or network-attached storage device on your home network.   You select the music to play, using the hand-held controller,  on zone/room players in multiple zones or rooms.   Using the controller, you can opt to play the same music in all zones or different music in each zone simultaneously.  That is very, very cool.   When Christmas and birthday come around and family members are asking what I would like to receive, I always opt for an Amazon gift card.  That way, I can feed my gadget/gizmo addiction and I haven’t found anything that I couldn’t buy from Amazon – and at a good price to boot.  So this year, when the family came through with some nice gift cards(thank you family) — I knew where to head.
When I installed the initial Sonos system, I had a single zone in the entertainment/living room.  That’s where the AV/ Stereo system is located and the logical location for my initial zone/room player.  I had always thought that a good place for a new Sonos zone was in the Kitchen/Breakfast room.  We’re in there a lot, and we often play cards with friends there.  We could hear the living room system there, but had to crank the volume way up, which I was not comfortable with. So, my latest gadget / toy acquisition was a second Sonos zone/room player for the kitchen/breakfast room.  I already had a pair of good quality powered speakers which had been sitting idle in my closet for a few years.  I’m very pleased with it and not only do we used it while playing cards, my wife is enjoying it while she is spending significant time in the kitchen.  Just a side note, This is one of the few gadget/gizmo/toys that my wife really enjoys and feels has value — in other words, the Sonos has a very high WAV or Wife Acceptance Value.

So, what does the future hold (according to my “Geek Radar”), a couple of things really have my interest right now.  First and foremost is a netbook.  What is a netbook you ask?  Well it’s also called a UMPC which stands for Ultra Mobile Personal Computer.  They are very small and mobile as the name implies – generally between two and three pounds, with a nine to ten inch screen.  The primary purpose of a netbook is to provide basic internet browsing, email, and office applications in a very small, portable, package which incorporates integrated wireless capability.  A number of manufacturers are now producing netbooks, among them are the ASUS Eee PC, Acer Aspire One, and the MSI Wind.  There are others from HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Samsung that warrant consideration.

My current favorite is the Acer Aspire One.   It comes in both a Windows XP version and a Linux version.  The Window version includes WinXP Home, a 1.6GHz Atom processor, 160GB hard drive, 1GB RAM, 802.11 b/g wireless, 10/100 ethernet, and a 8.9″ 1024×600 screen.  Dimensions are 9.8″x6.7″x1.14″ and weighs just 2.17 pounds.

I need another computer (I have at least six in good working order) like I need a hole in the head, but hey – that’s not the point is it – remember I’m a gadget/gizmo freak.   My interest level here is high enough to become a want, don’t know why exactly, but I want one.

My other current and growing interest is in DSLRs – Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras.  I’m currently looking at the expected brand names: Nikon, Canon, and Olympus.

My interest is not yet high enough to become a want, but who knows what the future holds.

Geeky Gadgets, Gizmos, & Toys — I love em!

Posted by DRHamp as Gadgets & Stuff at 10:19 AM GMT-0500

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As many know (for purposes of this blog, all one or two of you who read this) We have had two dogs in the house almost for ever. First there was Homer, Kay’s Basset Hound.

What followed was a series of Golden Retrievers which quickly and early-on became our favorite breed of dog and a near passion. First there was Katy then shortly thereafter came Maggie. They we’re both from local newspaper adds and were (in our eyes and hearts, exceptional dogs.  That’s Maggie & Katy in the picture on the right

When we lost Katy, we brought in our first dog from a local Golden Retriever rescue organization – Molly, a super-sweet eight year old female. (that’s her sitting in the chair in the picture to the left)

Not a great deal of time passed and we lost Maggie to an inoperable brain tumor.

After a period of time getting ourselves past that, we went back to the rescue organization to find a companion for Molly. That turned out to be our first male dog – Toby.    Toby was thought to be about four years old and had been picked up as a stray. He was a very handsome boy, adored people and children, though he pretty much ignored all other dogs. (Toby is the handsome red guy in the center picture and with Molly in the lower left picture)

We lost Molly to kidney failure when she was about ten or eleven and fairly quickly started our rescue search for another Golden. That led us to JoJo (Josephine was her full name), a real sweetheart, and again an older eight year old girl.  (And that’s Toby with JoJo in the lower right picture)

For us, having a “favorite dog” is like having a favorite child – They are all special, unique, and during their lifetimes they each are our favorites. I will have to say though, as much as I’ve loved all of our dogs – Toby was the most special of all for me. We lost him this past June and I miss him and think of him every day. His picture hangs over my desk where I can see him daily.

So, JoJo is the sole dog in this house and she graciously allows us to live here with her. So the search has begun for a companion for JoJo. I really think that she likes if pretty well the way it is – she gets all the pets and all the attention.
This time I think it will be a bit younger dog 2 to 3 years old, likely a rescue Golden again, but we are also interested in Goldendoodles though they seldom show up for adoption and we aren’t quite ready to take on a new-born puppy.

So, that’s where we are – I’ll post an update when it changes.

Posted by DRHamp as We Love Dogs at 11:09 AM GMT-0500

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It’s been seven months since I last I last reported on my progress toward qualification for the Wine Century Club . As a reminder, the Wine Century Club is an informal group of wine lovers who have or, are attempting to taste 100 different grape varieties. It’s a simple concept, but not as easy as you might think. Kay and I have been at it for a couple of years, and we we’re at 75 when I last reported in June. Varieties in blends are allowed, and makes it somewhat easier, but by no means a slam-dunk. It’s all on the honor system, but hey – it’s not a contest, there are no prizes, just an adventure for those who love wine.

We have added six varieties in the past seven months, putting us at 81 varieties.

The first new grape variety, from Italy, is Tazzelenghe, a red Italian grape from the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeast Italy. The wine is a 2004 Moschioni Real Colli Orentali.

The second new variety is Lemberger or, if you prefer, Blaufrankisch (Yeah, I thought so too).  This is a 100% varietal from College Cellars in WA,  purchased from  from Catie – The Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman .  I Bought it last year and just recently got around to opening it — very nice.

Third is Trincadeira or Tinta Amerela a red grape indigenous to Portugal. We tried a bottle of 2003 Esporao Trincadeira purchased from Jill at Domaine547 – one of our favorite online purveyors of fine wine based in Los Angeles.  I think this was one of her special packs — good wine, good marketing.

Fourth is Marachal Foch, a red hybrid variety originating in the Alsace region of France.  The wine is the 2007 – Amity Marachal Foch Meadows Vineyard from one of our favorite wineries: Amity Vineyards in one of our favorite wine regions.

Varieties five and six Clairette and Bourboulenc came from a bottle of a white Rhone blend, Caves des Papes. I didn’t keep the bottle and don’t recall the producer, so no label image is available.   The wine was excellent and a New Years gift from close friends.

So, there you have it — 81 varieties tried or 81% of the qualification for the Wine Century Club. As I mentioned before, it get progressively harder as you go along. The next nineteen to twenty I expect to be slow-going.

Posted by DRHamp as Wine-Wine-Wine at 1:27 PM GMT-0500

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Ok, I’m not in to New Years Resolutions, but I do have a goal in mind for 2009. It’s pretty basic and it’s to keep my blog up to date with a post a week at a minimum.

My Blog, “The Ancient Geek” has lain dormant, for all practical purposes, dead since June 16, 2008. So, effective with this post I will implement my goal and hopefully end my blogging hiatus for ever (and ever Amen!).

There are several areas of my life activity that need to be brought up to date:

· Our progress in qualifying in the Wine century Club – 75% complete in June & progress has been made

· An update on my current “transient” passions is in order.

· An update on the current “state-of-the-palate” as far as wine is concerned – changes have been made

· An update on the Hampton dog situation 2008/2009.

· An update on the my current gadget interest outlining any progress during my blogging absence as well as near-term plans/wishes.

Since I only have one regular blog reader (other than myself), it should be clear that I do this primarily for my own benefit and enjoyment. So this post satisfies that element as well as eliminating the occasional loving nag from my mother-in-law (who is the other regular reader). She never fails to remind me that I haven’t posted anything since June, 16, 2008.

Each of the “bullet” items above should be a separate post, but dont hold me to that.

So, that’s my goal – not a resolution – a goal. I’m obviously not sure I can live up to it – so I need an out.

Posted by DRHamp as uncategorized at 7:17 PM GMT-0500

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