My favorite iPhone apps as of Feb 2009

Free apps:
Pandora:
Pandora is a music player that takes your favorite songs, and plays songs with similar attributes as streaming audio - like a radio station that only plays your favorite songs. There are some songs that don't seem to match at all, but the more you use it, the better the music selection gets. And it introduces you to new artists you might not otherwise encounter. I think this link should take you to it.
phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284035177&mt=8

Snaptell:
The idea is this: you're in a store, and you wonder if buying the item you're looking at would be cheaper online. Take a photo of any item (book, CD, game) with the phone, and it searches for prices of that item from online sites like ebay and amazon. What a great use of iphone technology - camera, browser, web. Very cool.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/17/snaptell-one-of-the-coolest-iphone-apps-gets-even-better/
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=291920403&mt=8

WSF schedule:
This one tells you what time the next ferry will arrive at any WSF dock. Very handy if you ever take the ferry. Supported by unobtrusive embedded ads.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=288902938&mt=8

Midomi:
Hold your iPhone up to a radio, and it will identify the song. Or you can hum a tune into the phone... I tried it in a store playing a nice song over the speakers, and it worked very well.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284972998&mt=8

Wikipanion:
Search wikipedia quickly, and have the result already formatted for the iphone screen.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=288349436&mt=8

Charts and Tides
This 'teaser' app shows nautical charts for the Seattle area and uses your phone's GPS to locate you on the chart. It's to convice you to buy the full $50 version.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=300499486&mt=8

Units:
convert any imaginable unit into another unit - area, temperature, speed, you-name-it
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284574017&mt=8

Showtimes:
Uses your current GPS location to tell you what showtimes are available for movies near you.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=285018181&mt=8

Youversion:
Raed and search the Bible, and add your comments to any verse.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=282935706&mt=8

Yelp:
Find reviews (usually by techno-savvy trwenty-somethings) of restaurants and services by location. You do have to register with the website (free, no junk mail so far).
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=284910350&mt=8

What's on:
Automatically updating TV listings - set your locations and the provider at that location.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=289190113&mt=8

Epocrates:
Drug compendium - handy reference. Also can suggest a digest of a couple of noteworthy new articles each week, if you want. Have to register (free, and no junk emails so far).
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=281935788&mt=8

Everytrail
Use your iPhone to record a hike or bike ride, link pictures to a location, and figure our how far you went. Can show a live terrain map of your location, and has a nice minimal-battery-use lockout function so it'll record up to say four hours of hiking.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=290954446&mt=8

The Weather Channel
Can show a live Doppler map of precipitation.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=295646461&mt=8

Paid applications:
$10
Seattle Bus Map
My favorite new toy: shows where Seattle buses are in real time, using the GPS transponders signal from every bus. So you don't have to stand there wondering 'When will that bus ever get here?' Not worth the $10 unless you take Seattle buses often. Doesn't work for the Seattle-Tacoma express buses, unfortunately.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=299293359&mt=8

$10
mboxmail
Finally, finally, I can get hotmail on the iphone. I can't tell you how much time I've wasted trying to sign into hotmail only to get odd redirects and answering 'Is this going to be your primary phone' over and over again. Now I have rapid access to fully functional email with swipe to delete, move to folders, and click contact list features that are so handy on the regular iphone email program. However, since the program can't run in the background unless it' open, there's no change in the screen icon when you get new mail. And it has a maximum attachment size of 1MB which hardly bothers me, but seems to have some reviewers on the Apple app store pretty steamed.

$20
iBird
Love this one. Used to do a lot of birdwatching, and here's more than a field guide now conveniently tucked into your iphone. (Lugging that field guide was always a nuisance, but ya gotta have it.) You can identify an unknown bird by answering a series of questions (size, color, location etc) and then have illustrations, photos, recordings of its song and maps of its range at your fingertips. Layout looks great on the screen, and all info is stored on board the iphone so it works where there's no phone signal.

$3
Easy wifi -
allows you to sign in with one click at a Starbucks or McDonalds. Easier than typing in your phone number each time and then waiting for a text message and so on as they'd normally have you do.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=296273148&mt=8

$1
Searchquest:
Uses you GPS location to find wikipedia entries that are located close to you. Probably useful when traveling, but only finds a smattering of local entries here in Seattle.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=283286021&mt=8

$10
Anchor alarm
OK, I don't have this one yet, but next time I go sailing overnight, I'll get it. Last time I was anchored overnight, I kept waking up at night wondering if the anchor was still holding. Peering out in the darkness, it took my sleepy eyes a few minutes to figure out if we had drifted more than a few feet. Here's an app that sounds an alarm if you drift more than a specified distance from your original anchoring point. Granted, you'd need a power source to keep the iphone GPS up and running all night, but peace of mind is worth it.

Performance Art on a Light Rail Train

An innovative classical music group here in Seattle filmed a kind of performance art piece by playing a concert on a light rail train, with random riders getting a surprise free concert. 

You can read all about them at www.simplemeasures.org 

Make the customer pay to expand the network - cellphone home 'femtocells'

A Good Deal for Carriers, but Consumers?
By Roy Furchgott NYT Jan 26'09

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/verizon-has-announced-that-wil/?emc=eta1

Interesting idea, these so-called femtocells: making customers pay for expansion of the cellular network. It's an intriguing business model, where disgruntled customeers not happy with the ir cellphone coverage can pay to have a small cell transceiver installed in their home. I think the trouble with growing a cellphone business is that the hardware set-up is so expensive and has to be very broad-based before you can attract any customers.

Cooking sous vide - not your Mom's "boil 'n bag"

Cooking in a vacuum preserves flavor and prevents overcooking, if done professionally.  I wonder if home vacuum bag systems and an immersion heater could accomplish the same thing?

Shades of Green

Cooking green vegetables: why sous vide is better

By Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander TalbotPosted 01.27.2009

"sealed in a bag using a vacuum pressure chamber, dropped into boiling water and cooked for four minutes"..."the stalks cooked sous vide had a much more intense celery flavor, especially when compared to the other ones. "

"Two of the main challenges when cooking green vegetables are retaining the verdant hues and emphasizing the fresh flavors on the palate. "

"change occurs because chlorophyll contains an atom of magnesium at its center. When the vegetables are heated for longer periods of time or exposed to acid, the magnesium is removed from the center of the molecule and replaced with an atom of hydrogen, which in turn changes the chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b into pheophytin a and pheophytin b. This transformation changes the pigment from a bright green to more of a grayish-green color."

http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2009-01/shades-green

"Sous Vide - A Revolutionary New Cooking Technique

"Sous vide is the new culinary technique that has excited foodies worldwide. In the new cookbook Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide... explains why this innovative technique,which involves placing food in airless, submerged bags and cooking at precise, very low temperatures, yields such wonderful results.

"For the first time, one can achieve tender short ribs that virtually melt off the bone even when cooked medium rare. Fish and shellfish that stays succulent no matter how long it's cooked and fruit and vegetables that retain fresher color and flavor while transforming in texture. The secret to sous vide is to discover the exact amount of heat (and time) needed to achieve the best results. This is not your Mom's old boil-in-bags. After years of tireless trial and error, Keller and his assistants have achieved perfection in this collection of never-before-published recipes from his restaurants...

"...[the] book is definitely geared toward culinary professionals... It would be difficult for the home cook to use the sous vide method of cooking at home because the equipment neccessary to achieve proper results, temperature-maintaining immersion circulators and chamber vacuum packers, are expensive and if done incorrectly the food can be unsafe to eat. Perhaps in time, as the technique becomes more common place, the equipment and utensils needed will become more readily available.

http://hubpages.com/hub/UnderPressureCookingSousVide

It sounds like vacuum bags do certainly work to keep food fresh:

Two products promise fresh food - Consumer Reports Jun 08

The claims. Press a button on the Reynolds Handi-Vac Sealer for about 10 seconds and it sucks the air from an attached bag of food, "virtually eliminating freezer burn," those unsightly (but not unsafe) dry patches that can afflict frozen food. The device costs about $10, the quart- or gallon-size bags you use with it cost 24 cents or 37 cents each, and it takes six AA batteries.

Quick Seals are plastic zip-slider tops with adhesive strips. Attach them to food boxes or bags to "seal in freshness." Cost: 20 cents per seal, and they aren't reusable.

The checks. We put steaks in bags sealed by the Handi-Vac; in bags sealed by the Tilia Food Saver, a $100 vacuum sealer; and in Glad, Ziploc, and Hefty zipper freezer bags.

We left all bags in a freezer for more than a month, speeding freezer burn by turning the freezer off for 3 hours each day. We attached Quick Seals to original bags or boxes of crackers, chips, and other snacks, placed the same snacks in Glad and Ziploc bags, and used a clip to close several bags of chips.We left all bags and boxes for five weeks.

CR's take.Both sealers were the real deal. Steaks bagged by the Handi-Vac were free of freezer burn. The Tilia also worked. Steaks in Glad and Ziploc bags had lots of ice crystals; steaks in Hefty had some. Quick Seals kept snacks' flavor and texture as fresh as in a newly opened bag or box. Clips worked equally well (though just on bags) and are reusable. Glad and Ziploc bags didn't keep food as fresh-tasting.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/food/news/2008/06/two-products-promise-fresh-food/overview/vacuum-sealer-ov.htm?resultPageIndex=1&resultIndex=1&searchTerm=vacuum%20food%20seal

We live in interesting political times.

As unpolitical as I am, I have never followed politics as closely as now.  

I found these quotations from the New York Times particularly revealing - 

from Daniel J Weiss, (director of climate strategy, Center for American progress)

"...Obama has done more in one week to reduce oil dependence and global warming than George Bush did in eight years. "

and also in the article - 

"Granting California the right to regulate tailpipe emissions would be one of the most emphatic actions Mr. Obama could take to quickly put his stamp on environmental policy."

-John M Broder, NYT, Jan 26'09

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/us/politics/27calif.html

Of course there was an immediate outcry from auto manufacturers about further hampering their ability to emerge from the brink of bankruptcy.(http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/business/27fuel.html?_r=1&ref=business)  I actually think that different regulations on emissions state-by-state is not a good solution because of all the extra red tape and hoops for the industry to jump through, but I am glad the new administration is taking steps to rein in the US profligate wasting of energy and resources. 

Hotel that makes you feel like a King.

A friend stayed at a hotel overlooking the Taj Mahal recently, and said it was the first time a hotel really made him feel like a King.  Every room has a view of the Taj Mahal.  The British Colonial furniture is lavish and every surface is intricately ornate.  It's the Oberoi at Agra, in India.  

http://www.amarvilas.com/Hotel/Hotel-Overview.aspx

Likewise, the 'Palace on Wheels' train tour of sites in India was luxurious.

http://www.palaceonwheels.net/new/home.htm

Seattle Bus Map Very Cool Application

For anyone who takes the bus in Seattle often, here's a really handy $10 application that saves you from standing at the bus stop wondering where on earth that bus is.
"Waiting for a bus is
about as thrilling as fishing,
with the similar tantalisation that
something, sometime, somehow, will turn up."
- George Courtauld (1938 - )
British civil servant and author.
"The Travels of a Fat Bulldog."

The first screen shot shows your current GPS location as a red target, and up to 10 bus routes with the actual current location transmitted from each bus in real time (updates collected every 3 minutes or so). So, used in tandem with Google transit on the iPhone (see previous post) this application can tell you how soon that bus is coming so you can make your connections.
As you zoom in to a bus stop (second screen shot), you can see the pending arrival times of each bus at that stop.

See more at http://www.mobclix.com/appstore/app/299293359
See the application in iTunes: click here

I had no idea it had that much SALT in it.

Did you know McDonalds Caesar salad has twice the salt if a large fries? (890 vs 350)
-You easily consume an entire day's worth of sodium in a single restaurant meal.
-daily intake is just 1 teaspoon of salt (2300 mg)
-Aunt Jemima pancake mix: each pancake has 200mg
-raisin bran: 350mg per cup
-jello pudding 420 my per serving if chocolate flavor
-when fat is taken out if a recipe, manufacturers often add more salt to compensate.
All these facts are taken directly from the article: http://www.consumerreports.org/health/healthy-living/diet-nutrition/diets-dieting/sodium-in-food/overview/sodium-in-food-ov.htm

Bus ride via iphone

   I did something today for the first time ever - I used a GPS-enabled iPhone to take a bus ride in a part of town I hardly knew.  A quick search revealed the nearest store that I wanted was a few miles away.  I clicked to calculate directions, then clicked the bus option at the top of the screen (middle-top of screenshot).  

   It immediately told me a bus was coming to the bus stop within 2 minutes, and the connecting bus would arrive 2 or 3 minutes after I reached the connecting point.  As I rode, the GPS showed me when I was getting close to my stops, and another click calculated the reverse directions and bus times.  And if I missed the bus, there's a clock icon that brings up the next alternative connections. 

   The nice thing about this is I could repeat the same procedure in dozens of US cities http://www.google.com/transit , and have the same confidence in getting there (unless the battery ran out on the phone or the network went down.)

   Granted, all of this has always been possible. But to depart on a moment's notice without a sheaf of bus schedules (that have to be up to date) or computer printouts was liberating, and made taking the bus easy.  I've used google transit before (see an example at http://www.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&dirflg=r&ll=48.193178,-122.474342&spn=0.539648,0.555218 ), but you have to print out all your possible options if you miss a connection, before you set out. 

   I take the bus regularly to work, and for that route it took several months to become familiar with the vagaries of timing and alternate buses if I missed a connection.  Now it's all in the palm of your hand.  Luddites beware.

Amazing violinist plays in subway station - what happens?

I loved the story of this social experiment.  Joshua Bell, a world-class violinist, played for morning passers-by in a subway station.  Despite his incredible talent, only a handful paid any attention.  The article launches well beyond just the experiment, discussing the nature of art and its appreciation, of how busy we are as a society, and how the artist views himself with and without an adoring crowd.  

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html?hpid=artslot

You can hear the recording of what he sounded like at

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2007/04/09/VI2007040900536.html

Airstream with class.

Here's an airstream trailer with a little class - a little help from a few renowned designers. Well, what do you expect for a 50 grand travel trailer. They call it 'design within reach,' but that's not within reach of too many.  One report called this so glamorous it was for 'glamping!' http://www.gadling.com/2007/04/26/dwr-airstream-glamping-heaven/

http://www.dwr.com/category/outdoor/structures/airstream.do

OK, this was so bizarre to me - a tiny expensive fruit that temporarily alters your taste buds so that odd food combinations are suddenly tantalizing...Guiness beer became chocolate shake, Tabasco sauce became doughnut glaze.

If only it weren't so expensive..."The fruit is highly perishable and expensive — a single berry goes for $2 or more."  "Curtis Mozie, 64, a Florida grower who sells thousands of the berries each year through his Web site, www.miraclefruitman.com"

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/dining/28flavor.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

fruit berry party flavor 

Beauty study using morphing of faces.

I remember reading a study from Nature in the early 90's where they found by 'morphing' faces with a little asymmetry in specific directions, they were able to get higher attractiveness ratings from college age student samples. I couldn't find that exact study for this post, but here's a similar one.
Interesting study.
"Numerous studies indicate that human beauty may not be simply in the eye of the beholder or an arbitrary cultural artifact. It may be an ancient, hardwired, universal, and potent behavior-driver, on a par with hunger or pain, wrought through eons of evolution that rewarded reproductive winners and killed off losers."
and
"In the traffic-stopping female face created for this experiment, 200 facial reference points all changed in the direction of hyperfemininity: larger eyes, a smaller nose, plumper lips, a narrower jaw, and a smaller chin."

In a few related studies I looked up, there seems to be a controversy as to whether a little asymmetry in a face is more or less desirable.


http://www.onaantrekkelijk.be/achtergronden/featbeauty.pdf

http://www.uni-regensburg.de/Fakultaeten/phil_Fak_II/Psychologie/Psy_II/beautycheck/english/index.htm

Where I grew up.

I grew up in this house: click on 'view a larger map' and zoom in on location marked 'A'. 

View Larger Map

Heard of a guide-horse for the blind?

I had never heard of a miniature horse in place of a guide dog. They live longer, are smarter, and are instinctually natural at reading the gestures of the person beside them. This article discusses the wide variety of animals being used, and the variety of ways that people are trying to abuse the practice just to allow them to take their animals with them everywhere.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/magazine/04Creatures-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hp

Washington State is flooding

This is why you don't want to work for the WA state department of highways today.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/3182087839/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/3182775434/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/3181193344/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/3181052034/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/3180098979/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/3180894128/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wsdot/3180022109/