tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132807932024-03-08T07:00:11.158-05:00Geek CuisineThe nerdy nexus of technology, business and economicsGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-27617705539847244952010-10-04T07:59:00.002-04:002010-10-04T08:15:05.738-04:00Ancestral Nutrition Patterns<p><a href="http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/">Whole Health Source</a> looks at research into the eating habits of our ancestors. No, this is not another website pushing the "Paleo Diet". Instead, the author gives a balanced look at many different diets and cultures. The author has a B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Virginia in 2002 and a Ph.D. in neurobiology from the University of Washington in 2009, so he brings some expertise to the discussion. In his latest post, the ubiquitous potato is analyzed. Surprisingly, the potato is extremely nutritious, despite its somewhat unjust criticism as being a high glycemic food. In fact, some people have subsisted almost solely on potatoes and fat with good results:</p><p><em><span style="font-size:100%;">Dr. Hindhede discovered that potato protein is high quality, providing all essential amino acids and high digestibility. Potato protein alone is sufficient to sustain an athletic man (although that doesn't make it optimal). A subsequent potato feeding study published in 1927 confirmed this finding (17). Two volunteers, a man and a woman, ate almost nothing but potatoes, lard and butter for 5.5 months. The man was an athlete but the woman was sedentary. Body weight and nitrogen balance (reflecting protein gain/loss from the body) remained constant throughout the experiment, indicating that their muscles were not atrophying at any appreciable rate, and they were probably not putting on fat.</span></em></p><p><a href="http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2010/10/potatoes-and-human-health-part-iii.html"></a>Read his entire post <a href="http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2010/10/potatoes-and-human-health-part-iii.html">here</a>.<em><br /></em></p><p><br /></p>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-55025890618915185822010-10-03T19:35:00.004-04:002010-10-04T08:17:19.646-04:00An Excellent Site for Buying Software<p>I have just started buying some development software for a new project. Ordinarily, this would not be a big deal, but I have found a new seller who provides free shipping and very competitive prices. The seller, <a href="http://www.softwaremedia.com/">SoftwareMedia</a>, also does a good job of shipping software out quickly (orders will typically go out the same day if they are placed before 6:00 PM EST, Monday through Friday). I especially like their thorough documentation of a product's system requirements. They also handle volume software licensing. Visit the website, and compare their prices.</p><p><br /></p><p>Note: In the interests of full disclosure, I am receiving a small amount of remuneration for promoting this seller.</p><p><br /></p>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1152543992927932242006-07-10T10:54:00.000-04:002006-07-10T11:46:45.830-04:00Playing With Your FoodHave you ever looked at a piece of food and thought you saw the image of a bunny rabbit? Over at the Museum of Food Anomalies (MOFA), people have seen this and much, much stranger things. One of my favorites is the spooky Honey Comb®:<br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/269/401/400/spookycomb2.jpg" border="0" /><br />To see more, including the crying lettuce leaf, click on the link <a href="http://www.hanttula.com/exhibits/freakyfood/index.htm">here</a>.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1151075791250433982006-06-23T11:02:00.000-04:002006-06-26T11:37:20.883-04:00A Favorite No-Cooking Geek Cuisine Recipe<img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px; border: 0; padding: 0;" alt="Ritz Crackers" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/269/401/400/Ritz%20pic.gif" />The RITZ cracker has been a popular snack for geek and non-geek alike almost since its inception in 1933. Some claim that RITZ crackers became the world's largest selling cracker within just three years of its introduction! In fact, these crackers were so popular that soon after their release in Europe, young men often gave RITZ crackers instead of chocolates as a present to their girlfriends.<br /><br />Anyone who has sat down with a box of these crackers has no doubt looked at the recipes printed on the side of the box. One of the most curious of these recipes is the one for Mock Apple Pie. Apparently apples had become quite expensive in the 1930's, so Nabisco offered a RITZ recipe that enabled mothers to give their children a tasty imitation of apple pie.<br /><br />According to the website, "Who Cooked That Up?", a <a href="http://members.cox.net/jjschnebel/mocaplpi.html">recipe</a> very much like the RITZ one had been invented around 1852 by a group of American pioneer women:<br /><br /><blockquote>...In Helen Evans Brown's West Coast Cookbook, she quotes Mrs. B. C. Whiting's How We Cook In Los Angeles (1894), "The deception was most complete and readily accepted. Apples at this early date were a dollar a pound, and we young people all craved a piece of Mother's apple pie to appease our homesick feelings." The recipe was referred to as "California Pioneer Apple Pie, 1852", and the crackers used at that time were "soda crackers" which were mixed with brown sugar, water and citrus acid and cinnamon...</blockquote><br />In the age of Web, where mockery is king, a new mock recipe has emerged. Using RITZ crackers, peppermint and dipping chocolate one can create a decent <a href="http://cooksrecipes.com/cookie/faux-girl-scout-thin-mints-recipe.html">imitation of the Thin Mint </a>Cookie sold by the Girl Scouts.<br /><br />Here at Geek Cuisine I have a come up with my own faux recipe for Fig Newtons.<br /><br />In one of Geek Cuisine's more successful food mash-ups, I took a soft, dried and slightly gooey Calimyrna fig and squeezed it between two Ritz crackers. I call it the Ritzy Fig. For those who think this combo is not gauche enough for its ritzy label, try adding a small dab of goat cheese to the cracker before smooshing it all together. Then lightly warm or toast the ensemble.<br /><br /><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #060 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #060 1px solid; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 1em 1em 0px; padding: 0; BORDER-LEFT: #060 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #060 1px solid; alt: " src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/269/401/320/scan0002a.png" />For those of you who prefer something a little more nutritionally correct, I suggest replacing the Ritz crackers with the Trader Joe's Multigrain Cracker. TJ's MG Cracker has more fiber and no trans fat ingredients. Let me know what you think.<br /><br /><strong>Help support this site by clicking on the ad below. I receive a portion of all sales from my advertisers' products. These revenues allow me to spend more time writing articles for this blog. Thanks for your help.</strong><br /><br /><div style="text-align:center;"><br /><a href="http://www.cafepress.com/absurdotees"><img style="padding: 0;border: red 1px solid;CURSOR: hand" alt="Funny T-Shirts for guys and girls" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/269/401/320/Post%20ad%20bottom2.png" /></a> </div>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1145132183437965592006-04-15T16:01:00.000-04:002006-06-26T14:27:56.396-04:00Book Review: wxPython in Action<div style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 30px"><iframe style="FLOAT: left; WIDTH: 140px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=geekcuisine-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1932394621&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lc1=0000ff&bc1=000000&bg1=ffffff&f=ifr" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></div><p style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px">One of the interesting frameworks the Python programming community provides is an open source graphical user interface (GUI) framework called wxPython. Like other GUI frameworks wxPython has an extensive library of widgets and controls for building windowed applications. In addition to this, wxPython gives a programmer the ability to write one GUI application that will run on all three major operating systems: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Not only that, but depending on what platform the code is running, it will automatically morph itself to the look and feel of that platform.<br /></p><br />While this technology is exciting, learning how to use it is an entirely different matter. As anyone who has tried to use wxPython knows, the documentation for it is rather sparse. So much so, that the recommended approach seems to consist of copying code from examples within the wxPython distribution, and then coding and experimenting with it to divine the inner workings of all its parameters and effects. This approach was way too tedious and time consuming for me, so I put off learning this corner of Python -- until now.<br /><br />Recently this subject has finally gotten its due, thanks to a book and ebook published by Manning Publications entitled: <i>wxPython in Action</i>. The book was written by Noel Rappin and Robin Dunn. Noel is a senior software engineer for Motorola, and Robin is the creator and maintainer of wxPython; two people who have had extensive experience using and supporting the wxPython platform.<br /><br />The book is divided into three major parts: the first gives an introduction to the basic structure and function of a wxPython GUI application. It looks at some of the basic widgets, discusses the principles of event-driven programming and explains the use of a tool called PyCrust to analyze GUI-based applications. The first part also outlines the use of the Model/View design pattern, and looks at re-factoring and testing GUI applications. Part 1 then ends with a step-by-step development of a sketch pad application.<br /><br />Part 2 gives more detail about the implementation and use of the GUI elements briefly discussed in Part 1. Separate chapters are devoted to basic controls (ie. text boxes, buttons, etc), standard frames and dialogs and GUI layout and drawing.<br /><br />Part 3 examines some advanced elements like list, grid and tree controls. It also looks at incorporating HTML and printing into wxPython applications. Finally, Part 3 concludes with topics on implementing cut and paste, drag and drop, and multithreading functions.<br /><br />With few exceptions the book takes its title to heart. Offering a very fast, cogent, and concise explanation of the many widgets and tools necessary to implement a polished GUI application. One of the great features of this "in Action" book is the nesting of a functional index (in the form of frequently asked questions) within the table of contents. This makes finding recipes for common GUI widgets and techniques easy to find. For example, if one needed to quickly learn how to enter numbers, look up the chapter title "Working with the basic controls", then look under the subheading "Entering and displaying numbers". Under here one will find frequently asked questions like: 'How do I make a slider?' or 'How do I make those neat up/down arrow buttons?'.<br /><br />Under each of these questions, the author provides a relatively short explanation of the widget function, and then illustrates its implementation with a mini-GUI application. Copious annotations are often provided for a complex code snippet; explaining how individual wxPython method calls work. Attribute and style tables are also included to describe how a widget's look and behavior can be altered. The book seems to include just about every feature/widget you would need to create a polished end product.<br /><br />I also sat down and tried out several of the mini-GUI applications in the book. The annotations provided with the code made learning the GUI techniques relatively easy. While I was not able to run every code example in the book, the ones I did run were bug-free. For those who don't like to type in the code examples, you can download all the code examples at the Manning Publications website.<br /><br />If you do find something missing, buggy or confusing, you can turn to Manning Publications' Author Online Forum. Here, you can submit questions directly to the authors and read their responses.<br /><br />Manning also sells an ebook version of this book for about half the softcover price. The ebook appears to be an identical copy of the print edition with a few extra features added to it. Since the book is in the PDF format, it makes some use of PDF's ability to link to other parts of the text. For instance, you can have the table of contents presented side-by-side with the text and jump from one section to another by clicking on the various chapters and sub-headings in the table of contents. The index is also linked to the text, with each page number linked to its respective page.<br /><br />One feature I would like to see added to ebooks is a link from a word or phrase in the main text to its explanation in another part of the text.<br /><br />As great as this new book is, I did have a few criticisms.<br /><br />In Part 1, "Introduction to wxPython", some chapters seem to provide too much information, especially for users who have had no experience with GUI frameworks. While Chapter 1 lives up to the book's "in Action" presentation style, some parts of Chapter 2 do not. In the first four sections of Chapter 2, the book gets bogged down in an extremely detailed discussion about opening application objects, redirecting output, and shutting down applications. As a result, the text here seems rather dense, and makes the going rather slow. The majority of the material presented in the first half of Chapter 2 could have been included in a later, advanced section of the book, or in an Appendix. Fortunately, the second half of Chapter 2 gets back to the "in Action" style.<br /><br />In Chapter 3, "Working in an Event-Driven Environment", more or less the same writing problem happens again. The reader get exposed to lots and lots of detail about event-driven programming issues before seeing any code. The presentation once again made me feel as if I was reading a dense reference manual. In this case, I had to read through almost nine pages of text before I saw a coded implementation of event binding. This was way more detail than I needed to understand basic event binding. It was also more detail than I was going to need for the sketch pad example in Chapter 6. Unfortunately, this dense and overly detailed treatment of the event-driven environment went on for the rest of Chapter 3.<br /><br />In Chapter 4, "Making wxPython Easier to Handle with PyCrust", the prose is again dense and long on detail. Given the relatively simple examples in this book, I didn't feel a chapter on using PyCrust, a program analysis tool, was needed. Even more surprising, this tool doesn't seem to be mentioned again in the rest of book. While I agree PyCrust is useful, I feel its discussion should have been placed in an Appendix. A similar problem appears in Chapter 5, "Creating Your Blueprint". Here the authors discuss the Model/View architecture, testing, and re-factoring of GUI based programs. Most of this material seems too advanced for this part of the book, and would be better suited to an Appendix.<br /><br />If you are new to GUI development and want to avoid some of the extra information in Part 1, I would recommend you read all of Chapter 1, then skim Chapters 2 and 3 for the basic concepts that are presented, then skip Chapters 4 and 5, and head directly to Chapter 6. Engineers with previous GUI development experience can probably skip Chapters 2-5, then read Chapter 6.<br /><br /><div class="floatright"><a href="http://www.manning.com/affiliate/idevaffiliate.php?id=207_0_3_14"><img style="CURSOR: hand" height="186" alt="wxPython in Action from Manning" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/269/401/320/wxPython%20Cover.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />Please don't let these few criticisms deter you from buying this book. Overall, <i>wxPython in Action</i> does a great job of pulling together a tremendous amount of material. And for the most part, the writing is easy to read, concise and cogent. I think this a great first effort for both authors, and an extremely useful resource for the Python community.<br /><br /><strong>Buy this or any Manning book from the publisher, and get the ebook for free. You may also <span style="color:red;">buy the ebook alone for only half the book price. </span></strong><a href="http://www.manning.com/affiliate/idevaffiliate.php?id=207_0_3_14">Click here to order and support this site!</a>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1143825458887605472006-03-31T12:05:00.000-05:002006-03-31T12:17:38.906-05:00Ask.com, a Breath of Fresh AirWhile Google introduces more half-baked concepts like Google Finance and <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/03/28/google-v-microsoft-new-search-interfaces/">lame interface ideas</a> for Google Search, <a href="http://www.ask.com">Ask.com</a> revamps its search engine and shows Google a few new tricks. According to Walt Mosberg's latest Personal Tech <a href="http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20060330.html">article</a>, Ask.com offers its users 'Binoculars' that allows you to preview the contents of a search result without leaving the search page. Another new feature enables the user to refine their search with a 'Zoom' option -- both are neat time saving features. These are the kind of ideas I was alluding to in my blog post, <a href="http://geekcuisine.blogspot.com/2006/03/google-go-go-gone.html">'Google Go-Go Gone'</a>.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1143234202959339092006-03-24T16:03:00.000-05:002006-03-24T16:03:23.393-05:0037signals' Tenuous Front-Runner StatusWeb applications company <a href="http://www.37signals.com">37signals</a> is blowing their lead. They sell their products as if they are some great value added product. Not really. In the long run, they are mostly selling bandwidth to help their customers connect with employees and customers. Basecamp, Backpack, et al are commodity products -- relatively easy for any competent web application shop to replicate. Just think what would happen if Microsoft, Google, or Yahoo began to offer a collaborative to-do list, or project collaboration and management software --37signals' profit margins would get crushed. Since they still have "first mover" status, they should exploit it more: Sell this product to other web hosting companies, sell it as a standalone product to be run on company-based web servers, establish an affiliate program. <br /><br />In general, I think people would rather not pay recurring fees for project collaboration or information organizer software, once someone else offers a similar product for a one-time fee, 37signals honeymoon will be over.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1142903267740068982006-03-20T19:43:00.000-05:002006-03-20T20:10:21.216-05:00Google Search Needs ImprovementAs I've mentioned in a <a href="http://geekcuisine.blogspot.com/2006/03/google-go-go-gone.html">previous post</a>, I believe Google's search services still has lots of potential for improvement. One of my pet peeves is Google's lack of automation of newspaper archive searches. Searching for articles in newspapers usually requires one to actually visit the newspaper site, find the search box, then type in the keyword(s) according to <em>their</em> search syntax. Instead, I should be able to type in a newspaper's name followed by a string of keywords and operators, then have Google submit the search and return the results. <br /><br />Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Watch has a <a href="http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/060313-161500">post</a> with more ideas about how to improve Google, twenty-five to be exact, including some non-search related improvements. It's worth a read.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1142871127284429682006-03-20T11:08:00.000-05:002006-03-20T11:12:07.303-05:00Google Flies Too Close To Sun MicrosystemsAfter the acquisition of <a href="http://www.writely.com">Writely</a>, a collaborative online word processing tool, and <a href="http://www.writely.com">SketchUp</a>, an illustration tool for creating 3 dimensional models, the recent rumors about a Sun Microsystems acquisition seem to point to a bundling of PC applications offered either online or on a low cost (Sun?) PC. Others have speculated about using Sun computers to run large high speed database applications to support or sell Google services. In either case, Google is once again offering products that are already in the marketplace, and, at best, will offer only marginal gains in productivity. Even if all of these products were actually sold to the public, they would not generate the massive earnings growth reflected in Google's stock valuation.<br /><br />Google's need for higher earnings growth has sent it on a search for new products outside its core business. Foreign territory for two geeks who have only demonstrated big profitable success in the area of targeted ads posted on their search engine. Most of the recently introduced products have been a series of me-too products: Picasa, photo management, Google Maps, navigation, Google News, etc. While some have been very good refinements of their competitor's products, they do not provide a great leap in productivity for customers. Even worse, the vast majority of theses new products don't appear to have been monetized in any significant way.<br /><br />The founders of Google don't seem to be trumpeting any grand improvement to their search engine technology either. Something that seems to have lot of room for improvement (see <a href="http://geekcuisine.blogspot.com/2006/03/google-go-go-gone.html">my earlier entry</a>, "Google A Go Go Gone").<br /><br />It's not uncommon to see this kind of one-hit-wonder phenomena in the tech world, after all, designing just one great tech product usually requires a lot of skill, labor and good timing. What is surprising is that Google doesn't seem to be going after a large under-served market. Nor does it seem to be close to developing new and vastly cheaper solutions to some of Information Technology's most expensive and time consuming tasks. <br /><br />One wonders if we still need large software companies to solve big problems. Look at the recent success of small software shops like <a href="http://www.37signals.com/">37 signals</a>. They developed the Ruby on Rails web framework which has vastly reduced the complexity and expense of database backed web applications. Once upon a time, Google was a very small company that greatly improved upon the search engine of Alta Vista.<br /><br />Increasingly, the most exciting news in software tech seems to come from small outfits: <a href="http://www.digg.com">Digg.com</a>, 37 signals (not only Ruby on Rails, but their very good applications Basecamp and Backpack), <a href="http://del.icio.us/">del.icio.us</a> -- to name a few. Why not buy one of these companies instead? If Google is going to seek out small info tech, why not go after some with more exciting potential? Especially Digg and del.icio.us, since they are directly related to their search technology expertise.<br /><br />Google's current string of acquisitions and product developments seem to follow a penchant for coolness. If Google wants to make cool products and great earnings, then they should have bought Apple Computer and promoted Steve Jobs to CEO of Google. Here is a CEO with a long track record of finding under-served markets and creating cool products to fill them. Better yet, lots of customers want to buy them.<br /><br />Trying to duplicate the magnitude of Google's search engine success in a totally different sector of info tech is really hard work -- usually demanding very different skills. So far, the founders of Google have not shown the needed versatility or skill to achieve this goal, but they are burning through lots of cash. I wish them luck on their next great product, but I wouldn't bet on it.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1142524446136818662006-03-16T10:26:00.000-05:002006-03-16T11:04:07.016-05:00Ruby versus PythonI know, I know. I promised another post on Google and its wasteful practices, and it's not here. Well, the writing and research are taking longer than I expected; so you will have to wait a little longer. In the meantime, here is post on the topic of Ruby's sensational rise in the programming world.<br /><br />A lot of bits and pixels have been printed trying to explain Ruby's gain in popularity over Python. In the end, the cause is clear: Ruby helped to slay one of IT's biggest dragons, Python didn't.<br /><br />The dragon here is database-backed web applications. <a href="http://www.rubyonrails.org">Ruby on Rails</a> (RoR) is simply a <a href="http://blog.ianbicking.org/thoughts-on-ruby-on-rails.html">much easier way</a> to develop these applications on the web. RoR has helped to solve a very large and expensive problem in the web marketplace. This is one way you become a big success in the business world. Unfortunately, Python has not yet solved this big problem nearly as well as RoR. Nor has it solved any other large and expensive IT problems on par with databased-back web applications. Hence its smaller mind and market share. <br /><br />The lesson for all Pythonistas? Develop a Python-based tech solution that solves a big expensive IT problem. Until then, Python will have to remain content with its smaller wins in computer systems (Google uses it), engineering, science, and computer graphics (Industrial Light & Magic uses it too).Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1141574274496112802006-03-05T10:18:00.000-05:002006-03-06T08:41:02.573-05:00Google (Part 2)While many people marvelled at the great potential for growth at Google, they seemed to ignore the astonishing amounts of money Google was spending on "ordinary" costs. For instance, consider Google's cafeteria system. In a recent article by the San Francisco Chronicle entitled, <a href="http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/03/01/FDG32H9OF61.DTL&type=printable">"Now Google's Cooking"</a>, the Chronicle reports on some of the wonderful food services at Google. Their cafeterias put out 200 recipes a day. Serving meals not once, but three times a day! As you might expect, a diner at Google can find free-range and organic chicken, but on some days, one can also have truffle butter served with their meal. Even more amazing is that Google diners can enjoy ketchup made from scratch. In addition to all this variety, Google employees enjoy another benefit: they eat for free.<br /><br />What does this cost? On average Google spends about $8.00 dollars per person. Almost four times as much as other company programs.<br /><br />In my next post, I will look at another one of Google's wasteful practices.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1141316656130006732006-03-02T11:12:00.000-05:002006-03-04T11:39:05.766-05:00Google a Go Go GoneRecently, people have been weighing in on the reasons for Google's stock market decline and cloudy future. Let me add my reasons to the pile.<br /><br />Google is wasting money and straying from its roots. Instead, they should get back to refining and "smartifying" its search tool. For instance, a natural language query system to pose simple questions (i.e. "Search Dell site for desktop computers with AGP slots) would help to improve the relevance of search results. Another natural direction for improvement would allow a user to tailor search results by the demographics of the user? What would users with similar demographics think are relevant links for this query?). All in all, we still spend too much time looking for relevant results from a search query.<br /><br />While Google Ads has been a huge success and moneymaker, the same cannot be said for Google AdSense or its other services. In the case of Google AdSense, recent articles in the media have said that Google AdSense has been a disappointment: users find it difficult to use and revenues have been low. Google Ads are far and away Google's biggest revenue source.<br /><br />The other products and services have been less than impressive when viewed in terms of their innovation. Recently introduced products such as Google Desktop Search are Google Maps are relatively easy for others to duplicate, and do not give Google any great competitive advantage. <br /><br />The recent decline in Google's stock was foreshadowed during the pre-IPO period in an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal. Disturbing comments that pointed to a lack of ambition about the company's future plans and growth came when one of the founders said he did not care about the money anymore (loosely paraphrasing here). Clearly he no longer had a "fire in his belly". So, with this attitude, how much genuinely new innovation and growth could one expect?<br /><br />The ongoing spray of random and incomplete product roll-outs is further evidence of Google's own ignorance of its next "killer app". They remind me more of a charitable foundation that is just giving away products -- mostly commodity-level ones at that.<br /><br />Competitive and profit margin pressure continues to build as more portal players and Google encroach upon each other's markets. Email, photo management, search engines are all being done by small and large players (i.e. Yahoo and MSN). Other ad networks have also come along to add to the growing inventory (or glut?) of ad space on the web.<br /><br />We won't see another fast and long rise in Google's stock until Google comes along with another product that is extremely useful and difficult to duplicate.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1141137357997825712006-02-28T09:28:00.000-05:002006-02-28T09:35:58.010-05:00iPod for the More Discrete UserFor those who need to maintain a clean and tailored look, Thomas Pink tailoring company has come up with the iPod commuter tie. Suitable for the nano iPod, the tie hides the nano in a pocket behind the tie -- very slick. Read more about it at <a href="http://www.ipodnn.com/articles/06/02/23/thomas.pink.ipod.tie/">iPodnn</a>.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1141047514565194662006-02-27T08:34:00.000-05:002006-02-27T08:38:34.576-05:00Strange iPod AccessoriesKnow someone who has "everything" for his/her iPod? This <a href="http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/top-10-strangest-ipod-accessories">site</a> offers ten weird iPod accessories, including an iPod sex toy accessory.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1140795838568698182006-02-24T10:43:00.000-05:002006-02-24T11:00:40.156-05:00iPod is DoomedAmazon seems to be making a credible attempt to take on the iPod's market. A recent Wall Street Journal article (16 Feb 2005) says that Amazon is in talks with major music companies to create it's own online music service. In addition, Amazon would like to create its own branded player.<br /><br /><em>Unlike Apple, Amazon would charge users a flat monthly fee for access to an unlimited amount of music. For long term subscribers, Amazon might offer a reduced or free music player. Recorded music companies would find a monthly subscription plan a more profitable arrangement than Apple's "a la carte" system. Amazon's service could be in service this summer.</em><br /><br />This spells disaster for Apple, which up until now had a lock on the online music player biz. The only substantial value of the iPod was the easy and relatively inexpensive and legal access to downloadable music. The player, while well designed and full of coolness, is not difficult to duplicate by outside parties.<br /><br />In addition, Apple severely limited the success of the iPod by repeating the same mistake it made with its Macintosh computers, the iPod is essentially a closed system. If users want to add new services/features to the iPod, it is virtually impossible for the average user to do. For instance, other music download services are incompatible with the iPod. Doc Searl, , echoes these sentiments in a post from his blog entitled, "<a href="http://www.itgarage.com/node/524">Why We Need an iPod Competitor</a>":<br /><br /><em>...And remember too that Apple designed, and will continue to redesign, the iPod as a hardware extension of the iTunes software/retail system. If Apple were Amazon, they'd make that sucker wide open to user participation; but they're not, so they don't. It's a closed system. ...</em><br /><br />If Amazon creates a player and distribution system based on open standards, Apple's fate will be dire.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1140277102616541102006-02-18T10:35:00.000-05:002006-02-18T10:38:25.053-05:00Blog URL has ChangedPlease note I have changed the URL of Geek Cusine from kithchentj.blogspot.com to geekcuisine.blogspot.com.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1139846128585771172006-02-13T10:46:00.000-05:002006-02-13T10:59:19.156-05:00Lazy Dude's Tartlet<div align="left">Since I'm supposed to be eating healthy, I often work up easy desserts around fruit. A ripe juicy Anjou pear is often sweet enough to satisy a dessert craving, but not complex enough in flavor or rich enough in texture to feel like a dessert. So I have spent many early evenings spreading sweet and creamy condiments over my fruit looking for some dessert-like result. In the end, I came up with the Lazy Dude's Tartlet.<br /><br />My pear tartlet has a crust made from chopped walnuts and a sweet glaze like topping derived from Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter. If this is not rich enough for you, mix in some low fat cream cheese with the pumpkin butter. Serve it cold or pop it in the toaster oven to give it some warm goodness.<br /><br />Recipe:<br /><br />1 ripe pear (your choice)<br />1/4 cup chopped walnuts<br />2 tbsp Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter<br />1 tbsp cream cheese (optional)<br /><br />Slice pear into thin slices (1/4 to 1/8 of inch) and place on plate. Put chopped walnuts in a wide shallow bowl, spread them evenly over the bowl. Take each pear slice and push it into the bowl so that you get a nice thick layer of chopped walnuts studding the bottom of the slice. Remove slice from bowl and return to plate. Repeat this remaining slices. Now, spread pumpkin butter (with or without cream cheese mixed in) over each slice. At this point, you could pop your plate (oven-save or use a cookie sheet instead of plate) into a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Otherwise, just enjoy as is...</div>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1136129963877279722006-01-01T10:25:00.000-05:002006-01-03T22:50:21.633-05:00A Nutty Problem: Part 2After my last post, I was still wondering about why prices of almonds have risen so much over the last 5 years. Much surfing later reveals that demand for nuts have increased dramatically.<br /><br />California exports about 70% of its crop, so there does not appear to be a domestic shortage of almonds. What appears more likely is an increase in demand. Especially so, given the increased awareness about the health benefits of nuts. Walnut prices have also risen dramatically. Both nuts are known to have significant concentrations of Omega-3 oils.<br /><br />I could not find any mention of tariffs on foreign almonds. So, higher demand seems to be driving the price increase.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1135012133143501512005-12-19T11:47:00.000-05:002005-12-19T12:10:26.193-05:00A Nutty ProblemIs anyone else shocked at the rise in almond prices over the last four years? In 2001, I was paying about $3.50 for a pound of raw almonds at Trader Joe's. Now, I see a similar bag for $5.69!<br /><br />Is this the result of higher tariffs on imported almonds? Bad crop yields? Or the need to pasteurize raw almonds (which yielded an almond with a soft, stale-like texture (yech) -- I quickly stopped buying those!)<br /><br />In any case, I have started to shop around for a substitute nut to satisfy my breakfast and snacking needs. I may have found it: Trader Joe's raw pepitas (aka pumpkin seeds)! At only $3.49 per pound, they are relatively cheap and may have <a href="http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/foods_view/1,1523,176,00.html">health benefits</a> for the prostate, urinary tract infection, learning disorders and depression.<br /><br />Havng a somewhat smokey flavor when eaten raw, some people may not like them. However, when toasted the pumpkin seed takes on a mild peanut-y flavor. When I sprinkle them on Trader Joe's Natural Granola, the combination makes for a nice sweet and nutty cereal. I know there are already nuts in the granola, but not enough for my taste.<br /><br />What do you think about this combo?Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1131991791734305172005-11-14T12:55:00.000-05:002005-11-14T13:09:51.746-05:00Opening in West Hartford, CTI finally got a chance to visit this store on Sunday. According to some people who visited it on Friday, the place was extremely busy, so much so, that large swathes of shelves were bare! On Sunday the store was also very busy (around 4:30 PM). However, only a few shelf spaces were bare. The crew seemed in good spirits despite the crush and bustle of customers.<br /><br />The store space seems larger than the typical stores I have visited on both coasts. The ceiling is quite high, so the decor seems a little sparse on some walls. Maybe the ceiling should have been dropped to create a cozier experience. Unfortunately, no beer and wine is sold here. They had a selection of artisan breads and rolls on display, though most of it was gone. All that I remember seeing was some pumpkin seed dinner rolls. A brief tour around did not reveal any Asian condiments other than soy sauce.<br /><br />I went in hoping to find some ginger carrot soup, but alas, that shelf was bare.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13280793.post-1131825261224772772005-11-12T14:45:00.000-05:002005-11-14T16:35:01.140-05:00TJ's Piccata Simmer Sauce<span style="font-family:times new roman;">Is it just me, or does this sauce seem a bit overseasoned? I usually use this with some boneless, skinless chicken breast for a quick meal at dinner. The aroma is quite pleasant, however, once the sauce is in my mouth, I taste a strong herbal flavor that almost overpowers everything else. Is this how an authentic piccata sauce should taste? I haven't had anything appoaching the real thing in ages -- not since my days in Los Angeles.</span>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09243085763869983526noreply@blogger.com0