What am I going to do?

Katie left to Virginia last night to see her brother's graduation ceremony. I miss her a ton. I realized very quickly how much I need her in my life. So as she often does, I created a list of events while she has been gone:

1. It was really cold in bed last night. I forgot to turn off the ac and I had the fan going full blast. Doh! My throat was sore in the morning! What was I thinking. The small thin blanket was no help. I tossed and turned all night. I think I was confused which direction I should face. My legs were confused too. I miss my snuggle/tickle partner!

2. I had no idea what to do for dinner. It seems I forgotten how to cook. So I panicked and ate McDonalds. Needless to say I was hungry the rest of the night. I did however find a bag of chocolate chips to hold me down. I think they are for baking. I had about 5 handfuls while watching Biggest Loser and pacing around until I got tired.

3. I thought it would be smart to write down a to do list to keep me busy. However, I couldn't do any of it. Instead, I played my guitar until my fingers bled (not literately). I played, How to be a Tycoon on Facebook and channel surfed on TV. I was really frustrated with myself. I cant stand not doing something I had planned. So today will be better! See my new list below.

1. Cook dinner or go to Whataburger whichever is easier
2. Exercise 24 hour fitness
3. Pick up plastic barrel for Compost Tumbler (maybe)
4. Turn off AC and get thick comforter! Don't forget this one!
5. If not raining mow yard.
6. If frustrated disregard all the above, except #4 and RELAX!!!

Well, I better go back to work. Wish me luck! Or better yet PRAY FOR ME!!!!

Web Comes Alive

It seems Nortel is on the news again, but this time its for good reasons. Nortel has been working on a project called web.alive. Its our attempt to move into the 3d world. You can read more about it by going to www.projectchainsaw.com.

Basically, a company, lets say an electronic store wants to sale their products online. Typically you can search through their products by category, read reviews left by people or compare products specs. But that approach isn't very dynamic. Sometimes its nice to hear what others customers are asking. See the product in your hands. Bottom line, you loose a lot of the interactions you would normally get in person by shopping online.

web.alive combines the online experience with in-person experience.

First, you start by creating an avatar. This is a computer person you create. Its similar to Nintendo's WI or Xbox 360 avatars. If you don't know ask you kids. They know. You can then walk your avatar in to a virtual store all in 3D. Lets say you see on the shelf a sweet flat panel TV you like. Well, you can walk over to that TV, click on the product to watch a video demo or see specs, costs, etc.

Or take it up a notch. You can walk over to a live employee and ask direct questions using a USB headset. They can hear you and you can hear them all live. Or lets say you walk up to a customer in the store. You can speak to them too. Ask them questions that maybe are not found on the FAQ link. Or just say hi. The technology allows you to hear others who are online shopping with you. The sound technology is based on distance in this 3D world. So walk away and you cant hear the person talking anymore. Walk up to someone and ease drop on their conversation. Listen to the employee talk to another customer. Or just mute someone because you don't want to hear them at all.

Its truly endless what you could do with this product. E-Commerce, school environments or a training seminar, its taking the web and making it come alive!

It might not completely replace going to the store but it sure would make things convenient and cool!