George Lucas Sighting

So I'm in Las Vegas for the annual CTIA show. We stayed at the Paris hotel, one of my favorites because it's not overwhelming and is clean and Disneyesque in its capture of stereotypical France.

Anyway, there was apparently a wine show going on at the hotel for the first couple of days. I happened across several open suites hosting various tastings. I didn't have the guts to walk in and try some but that isn't the point.

I was at the LV convention center attending the show when my friend Andy called from the hotel. Excited, he couldn't wait to tell me that he rode an elevator with George Lucas. The funny thing is that he is the most outgoing person I know but he was speechless around Lucas. We come from the Star Wars generation (I was ten when the movie premiered) so Lucas' work had a profound, major impact on our lives.

Because he knew nobody would believe him, for the rest of the night he kept pointing out men who resembled (or didn't) Lucas and saying "There he is!!!" Everybody got a big kick out of it.

The really funny thing happened the next morning. We were standing in line for a restaurant and chatting about seeing George Lucas when all of a sudden Andy exclaimed "There he is!" I turned to look where he was pointing and sure enough, there was the legend himself walking along the faux-cobblestone street chatting with an older, taller man. I was struck by how short GL was but of course camera angles can conceal much. He's also much thinner than he appears on TV but its true cameras add pounds to everyone.

Cats eating rubber bands

We have a cat that is not very smart. He eats things that he finds on the floor. One day he ate a bunch of rubber bands that he found on a dresser.

He stopped eating his food and hid in a corner. Obviously feeling very sick.

We took him to the vet who x-rayed him and found that his intestines were completely blocked. The only way to save him was for them to operate on his stomach and remove the blockages.

$800 later this is the result. 

Ericsson annually sponsors a party one night at CTIA. This year the party was held at the Rain nightclub inside the Palms hotel. Here are some photos of old friends. 

Last week was the annual CTIA show in Las Vegas. Our company, LCC, had a booth.  

iPOD not recognized

So I get the new David Gilmour CD at tower records and rip it with iTunes. Then I got real busy (I was on the road in Philly, then to DC and Charlotte) and didn't sync up my Nano right away. Well, when I finally plugged it in I found out the PC didn't "see" it. In other words, it didn't launch iTunes nor was I able to find it as a media storage device.

As usual, I searched Google using phrases like "iPOD not recognized" and found hundreds of matching pages. Most of them had solutions involving re-installing ipod updater, itunes, and disabling/enabling high-speed USB ports. The one solution that actually worked can be found here: http://www.mcse.ms/archive61-2005-12-2044620.html

Not only did this fix the problem quickly and simply, but I learned how to do a soft-reset of a Nano. Thanks Ben!

Author
ipod usb device not recognized
ben.truitt@gmail.com
2005-12-25, 1:14 am
Hi all -This is a message to provide helpful information we were unable tofind. When we got our new ipod Nano and plugged it in to our HP laptopwith Windows XP, we got a message saying "usb device not recognized."After much frustration, we figured out the fix: reset the device. Todo this, toggle the hold switch (set to hold, then flip back), thenpress the menu and middle buttons at the same time for 6 seconds untilthe apple logo appears. Now plug it in to the computer again. Thisfixed our problem.Good luck, and enjoy your "easy to use" ipod. :)-Ben

Audi A6 False Anti-lock brake activation

I had a problem with my 2000 Audi A6 2.7T Quattro. When I came to a slow stop, like to a stoplight or stop sign, as the car's speed dropped below 5 miles per hour, the anti-lock brakes came on at the front wheels. The car would lurch slightly from the front end as the brakes were modulated at the wheel. There was also the typical ABS grinding noise as the pump motor worked. This was a frustrating problem.

My online research revealed a condition called "False ABS activation at low speeds." Though this article pertains to Chevy, Ford, and GM 4x4's, this sounded like my problem.

http://www.mightyautoparts.com/pdf/articles/gb0804.pdf

The gist of the article is that corrosion around the wheel speed sensors can interfere with an accurate reading of the wheel's speed. This, is turn, can trick the ABS computer into thinking one of the wheels is slipping; it thinks the front wheels are turning at different rates. The ABS module is probably not faulty; its doing its job properly.

The wheel speed sensors are basically electro-magnets which are mounted close to a notched metal ring near the wheel bearings. The notches in the ring cause the electrical current passing through the sensor to vary proportional to the speed of the wheel (in accordance with the Hall effect.)

Lacking an oscilloscope, I took the experimental approach. I pulled off a front wheel to see how hard the sensor is to reach. Luckily, the wheel sensor is located on the forward side of the rear of the wheel spindle. It has a 90 degree elbow electrical connector attached to it. I looked all around for a nut or something holding it in but found none. Trying to wiggle it, I discovered the sensor is "pressed" in or friction-fit. Wiggling it some more, I found out I could remove it by pulling and wiggling gently. It popped out and I couldn't wait to visually inspect it for corrosion.

Sure enough, the sides of the sensor body were coated with a light layer of orange. The tip of the sensor was hairy with what appeared to be corrosion as well as some metal flakes. I'm not sure what the flakes were from but I've read that residue from a brake job (turning and grinding the rotors specifically) can sometimes fall into the bearing area. I'm not sure about that but there were a few flakes on the sensor tip.

I cleaned the sensor barrel and copper sleeve with some brasso, blew out the hole with some compressed air, and re-inserted the sensor. Much to my delight, a quick test drive showed that the condition was gone. Now I can take passengers around without scaring them that my brakes are on the fritz.

Now that I know what I'm doing, I could do that repair without pulling a wheel in a matter of minutes.

Who should play Lance Armstrong in the biopic?

There is a rumor, reinforced by Lance himself, that Matt Damon will play him in a biopic.

Matt Damon To Do Lance Armstrong? (July 22nd, 2005) - Dark Horizons

I don't think Matt is the right choice for the role. Not only because of his physique, but because he doesn't capture the essence of Lance. Lance is lean, scrappy, cocky.

Someone else has suggested Ioan Gruffud from the Fantastic Four (Reed Richards.) I've seen photos of him where he looks a lot like Lance. I don't know if he has the personality though.

Also, on the new Battlestar Galactica series the guy that plays Apollo looks like Lance, but is too bulky.