The most extensive list of bathroom amenities I have ever encountered.

1. Shampoo
2. Rinse (Conditioner)
3. Bath Gel
4. Tooth Brush
5. Hair Brush
6. Comb
7. Shower Cap
8. Cotton Swab
9. Razor
10. Shaving Foam
11. Scrub Towel

Note that there is two of everything! I really wish I hadn’t forgotten my camera cable. :-\

I’ll be away for a little while, so don’t expect too many posts… I’ll tell you about it when I get back.

EveryVideoGame.com kept me busy for quite a while today. If you’re feeling nostalgic and need a fix for old school games, check it out.

Anybody remember Karnov? Hehehe.

I got craving for fast food last night as I do occasionally and was going to satisfy it with some McDonald’s. All I can say is screw you, McDonald’s.

Why am I so upset? I ordered a 6 piece Chicken McNugget and when I got my order, I asked for two packets of Hot Mustard sauce. I like my nuggets drenched in sauce, what can I say.

The guy said I would have to pay extra. I only could get one packet with my 6-piece order.

OK, McDonald’s. You’re gonna skimp me on a 5-cent packet of sauce? Come on… This is the kind of junk that will make me go to Burger King or Wendy’s.

via Likert: You can now play 20 Questions with a computer. This thing is amazing. My first object was a computer monitor and it got it with no problem.

/me is amazed

Just wanted to post about a couple cool things before I have to reboot.

Microsoft Voice Command for the Smartphone - Ask your phone questions like what calls have I missed or what’s my next meeting and it’ll tell you! I’ve never taken very well to voice control of devices, though…I always feel silly talking to a computer.

World’s smallest secure web server - Can you imagine wearing a web server on your wrist? Imagine being able to go to something like vitalstats.dcortesi.com and seeing my current heartbeat, GPS location, and other interesting stats, all secure of course! And the best thing is…you would be able to take the watch off. That’d be an interesting mobile webcam…

I recently heard somewhere about new corrective lens technology that only required an incision in the cornea and the insertion of something like a contact. In the most recent issue of Outside, I found more details.

For around $8,000 and 15 minutes per eye, you can now have corrective lens implants that will make you feel like you were born 20/20. And unlike Lasik surgery, which may impair night vision, the procedure improves your view in all conditions. Common in Europe for five years now, intraocular lens technology (IOL) involves inserting a five-millimeter-diameter plastic lens through an incision in the cornea and then clipping it to the iris, which makes it extremely durable…Whereas Lasik requires an irreversible cutting away of corneal tissue, these implants are removable and upgradable.

Verisyse implants are currently the only brand in the US to receive FDA approval.

I can’t wait until the price drops on that procedure! I’d love to not have to take my eyes out each night.

Once again, I must thank r-tools technology for their wonderful (in features and price) product, R-Studio.

I was trying out one of those SD slots that a lot of new computers have and mistakenly made the assumption that I could just yank the SD card out (which you can do with a USB device on Windows XP) without “safely removing” it. Unfortunately, doing so seriously jacks the filesystem on the SD card, or at least the partition table. Unfortunately, this meant that I lost all the pictures I took over Christmas. Bummer, but not something to get too distraught over…my brother, sister, and father all had a Pentax camera at hand during the week as well.

But this morning, I finally remembered I wanted to try doing a little data recovery. After spending half-an-hour finding my old registration key and the install files, I loaded up R-Studio, scanned the disk and amazingly two partitions showed up - one jacked up, and the other the original, valid partition! A right-click and Recover All Files later and I had my pictures back, properly dated and everything! Although they haven’t updated their software in years, it is well worth the $180 I paid for their top-of-the-line version that can even recover files on a remote computer.

Note: R-TT also just released a new firewall product, R-Firewall! I’ll have to test it out and see if it’s any good. I’m always on the hunt for good personal firewalls. My current personal favorite…Kerio.

Time to blog about my trip to Disney World!

So I went to Disney World on vacation back in October. Being a deprived child, I had never been to the most magical place on Earth before. I think it certainly lived up to that name. ;o) As they say, on with the show!

After a quick flight down to Orlando and a pretty cheap shuttle ride (thank you MEARS Shuttle Service), we arrived at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. When you walk in the front doors, the lobby itself is simply amazing. The detail you see in some of the beams is indicative of what Disney is all about - an amazing amount of attention to detail to ensure that you truly have a great experience. We didn’t get to the hotel until around 10pm, but nevertheless we found the pool pretty quickly. I didn’t get to go down the slide until the next day, but I must have gone down it nearly 100 times by check-out time…I love waterslides.

The first full day took us to Disney’s MGM Studios, competitor to Universal Studios and home to rides such as The Tower of Terror and the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (more on those later!).
It was here, though, that I quickly adapted to the world of FastPass. Now gather ’round and listen closely, for this may make your Disney experience just that much better.

FastPass is the method with which Disney has come up with in an attempt to alleviate long lines at the park. Certain high-volume rides in each park make use of the FastPass distribution. This allows you to take a ticket at a given ride that tells you to return to the ride within a specified time period. When you return and present your FastPass, you get to wait in a line that is significantly shorter than those who have chosen not to use FastPass. There is one catch, of course. You can only have a certain number of FastPass tickets at a time (usually one). What you can do, then, is get FastPass for a popular ride, go catch a less popular ride and maybe a quick bite to eat. By the time you are done, it’s time to return to your FastPass destination. It’s an excellent way to cut down on those long waits. Back to the rides.

The highlights of the day were the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, and the Tower of Terror. The Indy Stunt Show took actual scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark and showed how the stunts were done. Pretty interesting to get a backstage look at that stuff.

The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, like the infamous Space Mountain, is a roller coaster in the dark but with a little more loops and quick turns. The best part is probably the beginning where you are shot from 0-60 mph in about 3 seconds. The line goes right past the start, at which point most people kind of turn around and raise their eyes to the strangers around them, appropriately impressed.


Based on an old Twilight Zone episode, The Tower of Terror is one of Disney’s Big Thrills, which they’ve had to add in recent years to appease the short-attention-span MTV generation. The concept is pretty simple - board an elevator and shoots you up 13 stories…then back down…then up again….then maybe down a few and up one; it changes every time! I actually enjoyed waiting in line because it takes you through the basement of a faux hotel that the elevator is in, with all kinds of interesting stuff to look in.


Let me reiterate that Disney is not Six Flags or your other run-of-the-mill amusement park. Lines are not simply herds of people getting too much sun with nothing to look at but the other poor saps. Even the lines are an experience, taking you through interesting settings, different stages, and Disney does their best to maintain interest all the way from the point you step into line until you get off the ride. All the employees at each ride, for example, are dressed according to the theme of the ride. The line for The Tower of Terror winds you (if necessary) through amazingly well decorated portions of the faux hotel including gardens, an entry-way, and everything in between. To further this point even more, it’s time for lunch!

Lunch at the 50’s Prime Time Caf

From what I’ve heard, Starbucks’ new drink, Chantico, is pretty darn good. The Chicagoist thought so too.

Update: I had one, and with the near mistake of ordering a Grande (I probably would have died…) it was goooood. Like drinking chocolate. Thanks for the recommendation, West Coast! ;o)