EepyBird’s Sticky Note experiment from Eepybird on Vimeo.

Interesting interactive map here from GasBuddies.com. When I first looked at this in morning, Wisconsin was one of the few red areas in the country. Now (9 p.m. CST) most of the states directly below Wisconsin are read. It is interesting to see the amount of variation across the country. Note the map in the most changes as gas prices change so when you read this, my commentary may no longer be valid.

Thanks to Bob at work for sending this my way.

This is a great year to be a Milwaukee Brewers fan! You can help get Corey Hart into the All-Star game by voting here. (Requires flash.)

Or go here to vote directly.

I consider myself a loyal Amazon.com user and I’ve used a personal wish list for years. Often I use it just to keep track of items I want to eventually buy or even books I hope to borrow from the library. This past Christmas, items started showing up under the tree that were on my list including a book or two that I intended to borrow from the library. I guess I better keep that list up-to-date or create a separate list for my reminders and ticklers!

Recently I bumped into a post on 43 Folders about the Amazon Gift Organizer. I’m surprised I hadn’t noticed this yet but I’ll definitely put it to use. In a nutshell, it allows you to create lists for friends and relatives. Stumble upon something that would be perfect for someone in you know but that birthday or special event is well into the future? Well, just plop it on their list. I’m hoping my wife figures this out because I drop hints throughout the year which are typically forgotten by the time my b-day comes around! (Which is two days, by the way.)

Click here to start your gift lists!

Here’s a brilliant idea. PaperCDCase.com let’s you enter a list of 28 song titles and create a printable paper cd case complete with folding instructions.  Better yet, if you use iTunes on a Mac install this script from Doug’s Scripts and automatically send the contents of a playlist to the CD case maker.  Glad I switched to Mac or I’d be typing in those playlists!

Here’s a PDF of my first case.  Sample CD Case

How smart is that Google app?  Pretty smart, if you ask me.  For instance, it can tell the difference between a random collection of characters and a package tracking number from UPS, FedEx or USPS.

I frequently track packages that I send as part of my eBay auctions or expect to receive from my Amazon.com purchases.  Sure you can take the UPS tracking number, logon to UPS, find the right page, enter the number then determine the package status.  It works but is a little clunky.  Next time, however, just copy and past that tracking number into Google, press go and it will suggest tracking the package on the appropriate site — a total of two clicks!  Very cool.

I occasionally sell books via Amazon.  Amazon reimburses sellers $3.99 to cover the cost of media mail postage.   I typically would weigh the package, determine the postage, affix the appropriate number of stamps, write “Media Mail” on the package then place it in my mail box for pickup.  If the package was too large for my mail box I’d drop it off at the self serve area of my post office before they open in the morning.  In recent months, however, USPS no longer will accept stamped packages that weigh more than 13 ounces unless handed directly to a USPS worker.    I don’t know why, by USPS doesn’t sell Media Mail on-line postage at USPS.Com.  Buy today I found an alternative! Read the rest of this entry »

A few years ago Barry Nalebuff and Ian Ayres published Why Not?: How to Use Everyday Ingenuity to Solve Problems Big And Small. The book challenged everyday folk to use everyday ingenuity to solve problems. This innovation primer outlined a simple framework for generating solutions to existing problems and applying existing solutions to new problems. I recently stumbled upon the Why Not web-site. Checkout the idea exchange. Here visitors are encouraged to post great ideas while other visitors vote on their favorites. Most of the traffic is from 2003 (the year the book was published.) It is amazing to see why items were merely “ideas” back then but have now been implemented. Here are a few of my favorites.

• Audio-in jacks in cars - I’ve been asking for this for probably 10 years. It is now a reality.
• Dashboard Tire Pressure Gauge - Done. My wife’s Caliber has it.
• Chip bags with a Zip Lock top - This is such an obvious idea, why are we just starting to see a few of them?
• Fridge door open alert- The Maytag we bought last year has this one!

I’d add to the list an MP3 podcast/audio book player that can book mark and annotate files on the fly (see post on 10/26/07 ). What would you add?

(cross-posted on Thinking Analytically)

A friend introduced me to Google ImageLabeler .  I think this is just brilliant.  Give it a try but watch out.  It is addictive.  In this free game, you are paired up with another unnamed Googler.  In a two minute game, you are presented a series of images found in Google Images.  Your goal is to type as many descriptive words of the image as possible until you and your partner have typed the same word.  When you match on one word, you are awarded some points and another image.   This may sound trivial but it is actually fun.  What’s more, Google is using your descriptive words as meta data for those images to improve search results.  Very cool.    I scored 1700 points in one two minute session.  How many points did you score?