Old and New: Magic Mouse (left) and Mighty Mouse (right)

My Magic Mouse came a few days ago in the mail.  I am using it with my MacBook in replacement of my old Mighty Mouse.  All in all, I am liking it so far.  Here are a few points of likes/dislikes right now.

Initial Setup

Once I got it out of the box (not as easy as I thought it would be), I immediately paired it with my computer.  I opened up a few documents and tried to use some of the new features of the mouse, but they weren’t working.  After a quick “Magic Mouse” search on Twitter, I realized that I needed to run Software Update to enable full capabilities.  Once I did that, it started working like a charm.

Clicking

I love having the ability to click virtually anywhere on the mouse and getting a response of some sort.  It is a bit of a hassle to have to lift my index finger to right click on the mouse accurately.  I’m sure there are people who can right click without having to lift their index finger (I know I used to be able to with my Mighty Mouse), but I can’t as of now.

Scrolling

Scrolling is very nice on the Magic Mouse.  It is possible to scroll with two fingers (like you do with a MacBook trackpad), but I find it *much* easier to scroll with one finger in the center, similarly to how you would scroll with the little ball on the old Mighty Mouse.  I also like the way it goes with the momentum of your finger swish, even though it can be annoying at times.

Feel in General

The Magic Mouse is a lot smaller than its predecessor, so it took a little getting used to.  I still am not 100% sure of the best way to hold it… it is a little awkwardly sized.  I currently put my fingers all the way on top of it, leaving the bottom part of my hand on the table.  Although it is a bit strange when tracking, I find this is optimal for clicking and scrolling.

Overall

I think that this is a very worthwhile $70 upgrade.  Paired with a wireless keyboard, there’s nothing better.  Bet you can’t get THAT with a PC!

If you know me at all, you know that I love new media. As I was searching on Zappos (@zappos on twitter) for Tiger shoes, I saw the multitude of color choices they had. I, being the indecisive person that I am, had no idea which to choose, so I thought, “Why don’t I just ask teh interwebz?” So, here I am. My question to you is this: which pair out of these options of shoes should I get? Here are the three choices:

1. Insignia/Limelight         

2. Royal/White              

3. Birch/Indian Ink/Latte    

So internet, it is up to you. What do you choose? Please select your choice by clicking this link and answering only one very simple question. Thanks in advance! I’ll be sure to post the final decision.

~Riley

P.S. If you really want to please Riley, please help him out by clicking here or retweeting this message: Help me pick out my new shoes! Vote here –> http://cli.gs/26j1Ju/ (Retweet> http://bit.ly/6zrVD)

-Yelle

-Rodrigo y Gabriela

-Jupiter One

-Lily Allen

If you think you have a good taste, PLEASE help me by dropping a line below. My taste is anything with a good rhythm. If you know me, you know that I dig anything from classical to rock (especially fusions along the way), but I really have a soft spot for Indie Pop/Alternative music. So please help the cause! Comment below. Thanks in advance!

~Riley

1. Make a successful Flash video. I have made many little stupid ones in the past, but this time I really want to do it.
2. Code something. Anything, really.  I’m currently thinking up a super startup idea… stay tuned!
3. Get RWK Visual live.  I have had the contents of my site for my photo company, RWK Visual (short-term site here) for a while, (site designed and coded by Steve Radford), and have been wanting to make it live.
4. Expand my photo library. I am going to try and find interesting places to photograph, so my flickr peeps don’t always see objects in my room!
5. Podcast. I really want to make a few episodes of my school podcast for stock, so I can release an episode, even when I’m busy.
6. Recharge. School is stressful.  This is muy importante.

These are many ambitious goals, but goals that are attainable.  I’ll blog at the end of break to tell you how I’ve done.  Wish me luck!

~Riley

~Riley

Jared Polin Shirt from Riley Kaminer on Vimeo.

Photos are from Flickr  (this set).

     Last night, history happened right before our very eyes.  The first African-American president, previously Senator, now President [Elect] Barack Obama, was elected to office.  He won the presidency for many reasons, but mainly all his talk about change. However, what exactly is “change?”  It can mean many different things to many different people.  According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, change means “to make or become different … to transform.”  I think this definition is very similar to the definition of the Obama Campaign and the majority of United States citizens.  Many people, rather most Americans, do not approve of what our current president of two terms, George W. Bush, has done.  Also, the same party has not been in control for three straight terms since the 1928 election with Herbert Hoover.  With all these things, America is ready for change.

     While Senator McCain and Governor Palin promised “no more politics as usual,” Senators Obama and Biden promised true change.  They wanted to mix everything up.  New ideas on healthcare, the economy, and the environment, just to say the least.  The whole United States will be shaken up.  I think that this is good for America.  We need a new soul in the White House.  I also think that a new party will be great for America.  Democrats have been constantly complaining about Bush and the Republicans, so a new party is good.  Then, maybe, just maybe, the United States will revert back to how it used to be, pre-Bush.

     I believe that Obama was inspiring to many voters as well.  He managed to get thousands of people who had never voted before to vote (for him) in the elections.  He has also gotten record amounts of donations from people of different ages, races, and backgrounds—something that, in my mind, helped him win the election.

     Another thing that I thought was interesting about Obama is that he won the vote of all different types of people: young and old, black and white.  He did not have one particular group—rather he had all of them.  However, one demographic that he nailed was the college-age student.  He really got in touch with them and turned many undecided kids party-wise into Democrats.

     Overall, I think that Obama winning the presidency will be good for America.  It will open up many American’s eyes as to what another president can do.  It will also give many people hope in their lives, something that was not there before.  But still, anything can happen.  I guess we will see. 

I feel this is wrong but I also still feel the need to tag.  I feel that it is bad if I don’t and that I may be leaving something behind–not doing something I should be doing.  (Why don’t I try to say “feel” one more time?  Feel.  Now back to the post.)  So I try to be a reasonable tagger and if you are a blogger, I think you should too.  Plus, are tags really going to help out SEOptimize your blog unless you get 1,000+ uniques/month?

Just a thought.

Two fairly large portions of my life are devoted being “green” and tweeting. While going through my RSS reader, I found this article from the Kid Tech Guru about seeing how much Carbon Emissions is caused by my tweets on this site.  I was appalled to see that my both my family’s cars put together give out less C02 Emissions (about 2,000 lbs. less) than I do a year by tweeting.  The number is compiled between how long you individually use your computer to type tweets, and then your follower base.  Now, granted, they estimate that 100% of your followers see every single tweet of yours, very off from how it really is, but still–this is kind of scary.  

I bet that the person who developed this web app anticipated this issue, as it says some helpful tips on how to be more green (i.e. planting trees, save energy, etc…) at the bottom of your results page.  

Another flaw of the calculation is how they decided how much power a computer screen takes, and also what happens if you tweet from a phone exclusively?

Though it is a very rough estimate, the C02 Emissions Calculator scares me.  Back to tweeting!

My whiteboard drawing.

As you can tell, it’s on the EXPO whiteboard on my door.   And also, as you can tell, I cannot draw for my life–even more so at 1:30 in the morning.  Looking back at it today, I ponder a few things, such as why the heck I put FRENCH FRIES on the drawing.  I might as well have put bacon on it too.  I hope I sleep well tonight; school starts back up from the break tomorrow and I have to be rested!