How to scratch out envelope 'Facing Identification Mark' (FIM) ?

I have been saving all the envelopes that I get within mail such as cell phone bills, credit card bills and any spam mail with return-envelopes. Consequently I now have a huge pile of clear window envelopes. I have been trying to reuse these envelopes and in that process discovered the significance of the pre-printed bar codes on such envelopes.

The most common lines are the bars on the envelope near the right upper edge and to the left of the postage stamp area. These bars are called 'Facing Identification Marks'. All the envelopes that I have saved have the FIN A bar code on them.

The following image shows the FIN bar code on a postcard.


So now when I reuse these envelopes, do I need to scratch the FIN bar code or should I leave it?

The USPS web site says:

A FIM must be printed on all letter-size BRM and on business reply labels affixed to letter-size mail. One purpose for FIMs is to face the mail as it is processed through the advanced facer canceller machine. The other purpose is to direct the mailpiece to either the optical character reader or the barcode sorter, depending on whether it has a barcode applied.

So, leaving it in will at the very least allow the sorting machine to now which way is face up. Wikipedia states:

FIM A is used for courtesy reply mail metered reply mail with a preprinted POSTNET bar code. In both of these types of mail, the postage is prepaid, either by a postage stamp in the case of courtesy reply mail or by a postage meter in the case of metered reply mail.

Since, my envelopes do not have a postnet bar code on them, I guess eventually the system will get confused and this may delay the sorting of my mail or worse, increase the chances of it getting lost.

I am still not sure as to what is the best way to strike out these bar codes and on the lookout for the information.

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New Hipster PDA

In my last blog post, I mentioned that I was looking around to find out how I could make myself a Hipster PDA. I downloaded a few templates, printed them, cut them and used my Hipster PDA for sometime.

I found that:

I flip through the pages of my Hipster PDA more often than I add or remove sheets.

The clip I was using to hold the Hipster PDA in place did not allow me to flip through the pages easily. So most of the times the first front page would be the most often used page and other pages would go unused.
So this weekend, I made myself a new Hipster PDA and I am pretty happy with the outcome!

Here is a photo of this new Hipster PDA:



Here is a mini-howto for making this Hipster PDA:

Step 1: Download, print and cut a template you like or use index cards. You can refer to my last blog post for some URLs to do this.

Step 2: I bought a punch from a local craft store. This punch makes a tiny hole - 1/16th of an inch.

I used this punch to make a little hole on all the template printouts and index cards I was going to use in my Hipster PDA.

The punch is really not important, since you can make a small hole in the paper in a variety of ways. The punch just makes it easier to do this task.

In my first run, I punched the holes too close to the corner. The next time I punch new sheets, will take care to ensure that the holes are neither too close nor too far.

Step 3: I bought a pack of 'jump rings' from the same store. I wanted a ring based Hipster PDA so that I can easily flip through the pages.

These rings are used to make jewellery. So any store which supplies caters to jewellery hobbyists will have these rings. Or better still, you could take a jump ring out from an unused old key chain and use it.

I did not use a blinder ring, since I did not want the Hipster PDA to become too huge to comfortably fit into a pocket.

Open the ring a little and pass it through all the index cards/template printouts. Close the ring to have your new Hipster PDA ready for use!

I am a little afraid of the pages tearing off the ring. So, I might end up punching a hole in the left bottom corner and use another jump ring there to secure the pages. But then, since I normally clip a pen with this PDA, my fear of the pages getting torn may be unfounded.



The Pilot G2 pen 05 ("Extra Fine Point") pen goes very well with this PDA.

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Hipster PDA

I am thinking of making one for myself. My needs from an organizer of this kind are:

• Should be a pen-paper solution (beauty in simplicity)
• I should be able to move the pages around, so as to group them better
• I should be able to carry it around in my pocket

It seems that the Hipster PDA will be a good choice. The mind.Depositor is also interesting. But I guess I will stick to plain index cards and clips :)

A good site for templates is Active Voice’s download page.

LiveJournal Tags: Hipster PDA,GTD

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Blogspot displays incorrect time stamps

What time did I write this post? Blogspot/Blogger is reporting incorrect time! For the last two posts, the timestamp was behind the actual time by around 20-30 minutes. Google though is reporting the correct time.

What is going on?

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Movies over the internet

Apple's decision to take on Netflix, Blockbuster and others, with their online movie viewing business plan sounds interesting.

While reading about this development, I learnt (btw, Google thinks that 'learned' is the correct word and not 'learnt'!) about a new web online movie download web portal. Undoubtedly all such ideas are built on the primary assumption that the viewer has a very good internet connection. Anyway, here is a list of the many ways one can watch a movie on via the internet:

Free

1. Youtube
2. Google Videos
3. Internet Archive
   

Paid

1. Netflix
2. Jaman

UI Talk:

BTW I liked Jaman's UI for helping the viewer select a movie. As shown in the screenshot, one has to move the various sliders and depending on that, movies are recommended.

I don't know how they classify their movies. Most probably after watching a movie, the viewer is asked to judge it. A viewer can of course intentionally provide the wrong ratings, but what is the chance that the majority of Jaman's paying customers will do that?

The next step would definitely be to add a rating and recommendation system as Amazon has in place.

Netflix on the other hand has a simple UI.

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Linux and 'screenshot' Applications

I had to again search for ways to take a screen shot in Linux while working on a blog post. A quick google revealed the following ways to take a screen shot in Linux (primarily these methods work on Gnome, I will add newer methods for KDE as I find them):

1. Using PrintScreen button (alt+printscreen for the active window only)
2. Using ImageMagick (from command line)
3. Using Scrot (from command line)
4. Using 'gnome-panel-screenshot' (for Gnome)
5. Using ksnapshot (for KDE)
6. Using Gimp
7. Using Firefox web browser extension - Snapper
8. Using Firefox web browser extension - ScreenGrab

References:
How to Take a Screenshot in Linux (Ubuntu)
How to Take a Screenshot in Linux (GNOME) Revisited
Taking Screenshots with Linux

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RC Indoor Helicopters

Tried out two RC indoor helicopters during the last few weeks (well, one is modeled after a chopper while the other is modeled after a fly).

The first one was the $30 one from Brookstone. For the price this is a great buy. The looks are good and when it is turned on, a flashing led gets turned on too. The chopper comes in four models. Each model looks alike but differs in the frequency it works on. So four people can have the A,B,C and D models flying in the same room without their radio controllers getting confused. One advantage this model has over the 'Micro Mosquito' model (discussed below), is the landing skids (the ski like structures instead of wheels). These allow it to take off from any kind of surface (rough or smooth).

The chopper is not too tough to control. The problem is that it is not very responsive to the controls and it kinda has a mind of its own. For instance, turning left on the control won't result in the chopper turning left immediately. It slowly will turn by when it would have already flown ahead on its course.

Since the turns are not sharp and while taking off it strays off-course, a big room is necessary to fly this. Perhaps with more control I will be able to fly it in a smaller room and the ultimate test would be to fly it in the passage in my house. It requires 6 AA cells in the radio controller. Charging takes a 10-20 minutes and after a full charge, I am able to fly it for around 10 minutes.

The chopper has a single rotating blade. The top most blade (as can be seen in the image) is not an actual blade. It has a tail rotor which I guess functions pretty much as the real chopper's tail rotor does.

The other beauty is the famous superstar 'Micro Mosquito'. This is priced at $70 at your nearest Radioshack outlet. Although the price is higher than the Brookstone model, this helicopter has amazing control. I am currently playing around with it.

Taking off is pretty easy since the amount of thrust that it generates results in a near vertical take off. Controlling it to move forward and backward seems to be a little tough. It is pretty sensitive to AC ducts in the house.

Since the 'Micro Mosquito' is really not modeled on the lines of a helicopter, there are a lot of differences between it and a real helicopter. The mechanics of flying are explained well here. Due to its sharp projections like legs on which it stands, it can not take off from carpets and requires a smooth surface to take off from. This is a disadvantage. I guess the manufacturer was trying to imitate a fly in appearance.

(I don't like the name 'Micro Mosquito'. The name suggests something that is smaller than a mosquito, while the product is definitely not! I really believe that if such trends continue, and people keep accepting them, English words will loose their current meanings.)


There are amazing YouTube videos on this chopper.

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Which book influenced you the most?

I was catching up with some reading. I happened to chance upon the article in IEEE Spectrum March 2007 issue which was about books that made an impact in the lives of a few leading technologists.

The two books that were mentioned by more than one person were:

• A Single Pebble


• Gravity's Rainbow

The reason for such books the article writer thinks is:
Science fiction probably did as much as anything else in the 20th century to push youngsters into engineering. So it’s natural to look at the genre today and wonder if, amid the electronic clutter of modern adolescence, paper books still retain their power to enthrall and inspire.


Here is the link to that article.

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Are you a true Vim fan?

To all Vim users and lovers:

Have you proved your love towards Vim by buying the Vim book?

If not, then BUY THE VIM BOOK! If you buy it through the URL provided, 7.5% of the sales proceeds will be donated to the charity working for children in Uganda, which is where, the creator of Vim, Bram Moolennar wants the proceeds to go.

So if you want to express your heartfelt grateful thanks to Vim, then buy the book at the very least.

UPDATE: The book has a lot of typos and errors. Do not forget to check out the errata for the book.

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Dining in and around Fairfax

To make it easier for me, let me keep adding URLs to interesting places to eat in and around Fairfax city.

This website lists a lot of interesting places in Herndon where one could try different tastes.

Vegetarian places from the 'Veggilicious' website.

Friendly Reminder: "Eat to live, do not live to eat!"

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This is no longer a 'beta' product !

Just noticed on the dashboard - Google's announcement that this is no longer a 'beta' product!

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General Knowledge Quiz

Attending and winning quizzes was great fun during my school years (especially if the team you are on is the best team in the city). The questions in the quizzes during my school days were pretty much like the questions below, simple GK based question. But then during my college years, the quizzes became intensely "trivia" oriented. If you had not seen the third episode of a series, you would not know the answer kind of question, like the most important question below.

Answer these questions:

* When did Columbus discover the Americas?
* The first shot of American Revolutionary War was fired here ______.
* Which Bolshevik played a key role in the October Revolution along with Lenin?
* What did Eli Whitney invent in 1793?

(I could remember the answer to the last question only!)

and the most important question is:
what is the common theme between these questions?


Hint - He is the 'Defender of freedom', 'Advocate of liberty', the 'champion of liberty and justice', "it's a bird, it's a plane, no its not ...it's ..."

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iMac, Canon Camera and an argument lost

One of my friends had an iMac and late last night we got into a contest regarding the super-powers of an iMac (why do all such experiments have to begin late at night always?).

He said that we could get any device and his iMac will instantly recognize the device and without the need for any drivers to be additionally installed, make the device usable.

The first device we got, as starters was a wireless mouse. We plugged it in, and in a few seconds the mouse was working. Wow! my other friend said while I was still unimpressed.

The real test would be, I declared, if it recognizes and downloads photos from my camera.

I was certain that it was not possible. On my Linux machine, certainly the OS did not recognize the camera and rightly so, 'cause Canon was using a proprietary protocol to download the images. I had googled it up and read elsewhere too, that this was a task still not possible.

I had previously taken a look at gphoto2 and now, from what I recall, it was said that this task was not possible yet.

So, I went and got my camera and with a smile attached it to the iMac's USB port. iPhoto came on, it went into some searching mode, my smile got wider, the iMac owner showed some restlessness and my smile got even wider.

Ha, I said, it is not possible!

It had been a few minutes now, the software had only recognized the camera make and the number of photos in the card.

It is over, I said and started to explain about the proprietary protocol and why definitely there was a need for a driver to be installed.

Lo and behold then, iPhoto started displaying the photos ! (we had clicked on the "import" button by then).

Another late night argument, this one I lost.

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Historical Note

So shall it be noted, that on the 21 of January, 2007 at 13:04 hours, the city of Fairfax, VA had its first snowfall for this winter.

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TED Conferences - II

Found that TED conferences has an interesting blog here and the video/audio files can be found here.

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How convincing !

Got this in my inbox. The spam filter must have thought that it was helping me by not flagging this as spam ;)

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Subject: Hey you ! Blind date on hold fw

Hey there bad boy! !! !!!


Hope you remember me! Erika!!!!
It’s been a while I know , but how funny, here I am again hehe!
Well well , I left to South America for 3 months. Me and the girls did a bunch of crazy stuff. Wanna see my pics, I’ve only got about 1000 of them!. Three of us got implants hehe!.

Ok OK!

See search for nickname: WetDesire
============

The link was to a website on geocities.com

Almost believed it ;)

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Fountain Pens

Not many use a fountain pen these days, at least not for daily writing.

I found this great web site which had a lot of suggestions and advice.

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Steve Irwin is no more

The world struggles with this sad news. Croc Hunter, the human face which endeared a lot of spooky, creepy, crawly and dangerous animals died while filming a lesser dangerous animal than what he has handled in the past.

A sad day indeed. He brought the animal world closer to us. With his television shows he had influenced millions of humans' opinion towards crocs and the rest of the animals he dealt with.

It will take a long time I guess, before the animals find a new friend in someone who is as effective as he was.

I had visited the Croc hunter's zoo in 2004. It was a nice place. My favourite being the walk through aviary which had a huge number of birds which were extremely exotic to me. To see the Otters have fun in the water enclosure was great fun too. I was taken aback when I got close to a snake handler and saw that she was handling a Corn Snake! The reason for my surprise was that the Corn Snake was from the US and is found in Virginia. I told her that it was really a coincidence that the snake which I get to see very close is the one that was found in the place I lived thousands and thousands of miles away.

I posted some photos from my trip here

Here is a photo of a croc in the enclosure:

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Ruskin Bond's "Tales of the Open Road"

Was glad to know that Rusty has a new book to his credit:

Tales of the Open Road; Ruskin Bond, Penguin, Rs. 200

Must be interesting I suppose. It reminds me (rightly or wrongly) of an anthology of travel writings which he had edited. Did this idea take its birth there?

My impression of his writings is that his stories are not of the wanderer, it is of a story teller who is at great ease searching for human drama in and around his place of residence, like some curious kid who spends his summer holidays, exploring the garden...peering into tree holes, lifting stones to see what lies beneath and climbing the wall to see further.

It would be interesting to see how Rusty fares as a wanderer. Won't his stories be sad without the Deodars ?

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Tag: Literature Prose

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The Final Four

EXCITING STUFF !!!!!

GMU plays their FIRST FINAL FOUR basketball match in a few hours from now !!!

GO MASON !!!

More:
GMU Patriots
GMU Basketball Digital Memory Bank

GO MASON !! GO !!!

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Tag: Miscellaneous

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