tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69227592024-03-07T13:24:14.049-08:00BReilly's weblogTechnology, learning, sports and local issues from Temecula, CABrian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.comBlogger659125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-82009949664654567552022-03-31T08:36:00.000-07:002022-03-31T08:36:08.803-07:00Tvidler.com will rip you off I made the mistake a few days ago of clicking on a YouTube ad for Tvidler, an ear wax removal tool. I was using my phone and decided to order 1 for $19.95 plus $4.95 shipping. I knew I should have checked amazon first. Of course, you can buy the same item for less there with no shipping charge if you have Amazon Prime. As I went through the payment screens, I started having doubts. When I Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-11428909989320709522014-11-25T14:16:00.000-08:002014-11-25T14:16:22.726-08:00The customer unfriendly Avis e-toll convenience fee
I rented a car for a week from Avis last month and drove to San Francisco after a few days in the Eastern Sierra. When I picked up the car, I asked about driving over the Golden Gate Bridge because I had not done that since they removed all of the toll booths and I wasn't sure how it was going to work with a rental car. The rental agent told me that it was automated and the box on the windshieldBrian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-71985077454597577322008-05-06T18:36:00.001-07:002008-05-06T18:36:41.189-07:00Lack of postsI haven't been active on this blog for a couple of months. It seems neglected. Maybe I should turn it into a photoblog or do something to get it going again.Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-40447954942562987372008-03-29T17:04:00.001-07:002008-03-29T17:04:36.165-07:00UCLA -- too much defense for XavierI was hoping Xavier could hang in there with UCLA but it's not gonna happen. Too much talent and too much defense for UCLA is going to make it a blowout. Xavier just doesn't have the horses. Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-68509852275170788872008-03-27T21:01:00.001-07:002008-03-27T21:01:45.698-07:00Why is this site the third best Brian Reilly online?I wrote on my other blog that I'd like to be the best Brian Reilly online. If you search for Brian Reilly, I'm definitely above average, with the 3rd and 6th spots currently. I'd like to get back to #1, but I don't know enough about search engine optimization to do that, apparently. It's not really the best Brian Reilly site that gets the top ranking, it's the one that has the best links. And I Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-14574308253476600552008-03-27T20:58:00.001-07:002008-03-27T20:58:56.817-07:00UCLA - not the best in NCAA tournamentI picked UCLA to get to the final game and lose to North Carolina. So far, that looks like a possibility. I was a little too influenced by Bob Knight's pick of Pittsburgh to win it all, so I put them in the final four, but they are already out and did some damage to my brackets. Anyway, UCLA looks like they will coast to a win over Western Kentucky, although WKU's wild play in the second half is Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-36261779861111522322008-03-21T14:30:00.001-07:002008-03-21T14:30:56.046-07:00To Read or Not to Read, is that the question?The NEA's new report on reading [PDF] paints a bleak picture of reading as a pleasure activity in the US. In a quick look at the document, I didn't see any discussion of the possibility that reading on computer screens accounts for some of the change in reading habits. What is clear though is that reading does compete with other media, and it seems to be losing, particularly among young people:58Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-8264496412077914502008-01-14T15:36:00.001-08:002008-01-14T15:36:32.317-08:00What happened with Vizaweb?My hosting plan on Vizaweb was up for renewal on Saturday, Jan. 12th. On the 8th, I sent an email to Vizaweb support asking if I could pay more money for a better hosting plan. I got a quick automated response, then waited and got nothing more. I sent another request on the 11th and got the same automated response and nothing more. I tried again on the 12th. Same result. Today my site went Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-54903018005285736682007-12-16T21:21:00.001-08:002007-12-16T21:21:47.604-08:00mupromo cracks 10k sold10,000 people have bought the mupromo. That's pretty impressive. Half a million dollars spent on Mac software, which, if bought at full price, would be more than $6 million.Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-27346632030797380812007-12-02T20:55:00.001-08:002007-12-02T20:55:57.294-08:00FAU in a bowl gameFlorida Atlantic University is playing Memphis in the New Orleans bowl. I think FAU started playing football about 5 years ago, so that is quite a feat. Actually, it FAU started playing football in 2001, so it's been 6 years, but that is still impressive.Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-64726429803740202072007-11-16T18:19:00.001-08:002007-11-16T18:19:35.722-08:00Soccer season endsThe soccer playoffs ended last night. Most of the games ended in ties, went into overtime and then were decided by penalty kicks. It didn't look like many of the teams had done any preparation for penalty kicks though. I think it would have helped because most kids either missed the goal entirely or kicked it right at the goalie. I think the overall make rate on the penalty kicks I saw was aroundBrian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-6351870908968444912007-11-03T19:31:00.001-07:002007-11-03T19:31:14.919-07:00SoccerIn our U-12 game we tied it up in the last quarter on a penalty kick. We got the call when one of our players went down on the ground as he was defended by two players in front of the goal. I thought he was going to get a good shot at the goal and the opposing team had been pushing quite a bit during the game, but I didn't see the foul. I know that the referee in the game is one who rarely calls Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-37956570612675402772007-11-03T19:28:00.001-07:002007-11-03T19:28:52.928-07:00Suns - LakersI turned on the Suns - Lakers game last night near the end of the third quarter hoping to see the Lakers close enough to make it a game down the stretch. It was a real shock that they were up by more than 20 at that point and then as many as 33 in the fourth quarter. The Lakers looked good and the Suns didn't. I don't know if you can learn anything from that game or not. I don't expect it to Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-22023079322250723052007-11-02T20:49:00.001-07:002007-11-02T20:49:43.503-07:00Celtics will be tough to beat in the EastI don't know how good the Wizards are, but they were a playoff team last year and Boston handled them very easily tonight. It's just the first game, but the Celtics look like a real contender in the East. There are not too many teams with three scorers like they've got, so they will be tough to beat.Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-13842064299387240262007-11-01T13:45:00.001-07:002007-11-01T13:45:27.079-07:00Halloween picturesI took pictures of the trick or treaters who came to our house last night. The pictures look good and I hope to get them online tonight. What surprised me was that no one said no to having their picture taken. I don't think I would have gotten the same reaction without the costumes. The other surprise was actually how few kids were out last night and how few houses were participating. There Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-13986495291341994742007-11-01T13:35:00.001-07:002007-11-01T13:35:17.165-07:00Air is getting close to normalThey said on the radio today that the air quality today was moderate, so that's a step in the right direction. I think it will be another week at least before it doesn't look smoggy, but today we had some fog and a little bit of precipitation and I'm sure that helps clean things up a little. Fires are still burning not far away, so things could change, but it seems safe to resume outdoor Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-10935226983033753692007-10-26T09:10:00.001-07:002007-10-26T09:10:48.313-07:00AntiRSII have had lots of time with sore fingers, wrists and shoulders in the past few months due to my excessive use of a Macbook Pro. The laptop keyboard isn't so great when you are using it 8 hours a day. I get worn out by the end of the week and would like to take a break to save my body.I came across the freeware applicaton AntiRSI which is a little program that reminds you to take breaks while youBrian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-62554470488388015852007-10-26T09:00:00.001-07:002007-10-26T09:00:38.659-07:00More bad air in TemeculaI hear people mowing lawns this morning, but I don't think the air is any better. The sky is still very gray and there's not much sun coming through. It looks like another day to stay inside. The forecast is for cooler weather starting today, but not by very much. What we really need is rain and that is not in the cards right now.Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-208566367963358152007-10-25T20:34:00.001-07:002007-10-25T20:34:19.365-07:00Leopard coming soonI'm not planning on buying Leopard for my iMac tomorrow, but I am getting more interested in some of the new features. I think the Time Machine backup deal is going to be good, but there are a few others I'd like to have too. Usually these updates are no problem, but every once in a while there's a problem and you end up wasting a few hours fixing things. Better to wait and see what happens to Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-17639359670176796162007-10-25T19:32:00.001-07:002007-10-25T19:32:49.374-07:00Bad Air leads to school and soccer cancellationsNo school tomorrow. No soccer on Saturday. Those make sense to me with the terrible air quality here. I just wonder how long they can keep the schools closed. It seems like even after the smoke goes away and the fires are out, whenever that may be, the air is going to be bad for days and days unless it rains. It's not likely to rain though, so the air quality should be bad for some time. I'd likeBrian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-59041260920787138902007-10-25T19:29:00.001-07:002007-10-25T19:29:59.448-07:00Red Sox - RockiesTonight's game is much better than last night's but I think the Rockies are going to come up a little short. Boston isn't going to score only 2 runs, but the Rockies don't look like they can do anything against Curt Schilling. I don't think Colorado can take 3 in a row at home, but I bet they win 2 and then Boston closes it out in the 6th game at home.Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-9954676752532668662007-10-25T16:52:00.001-07:002007-10-25T16:52:39.782-07:00TemeculaWeather.comTemeculaWeather.com says the index is 139 today. I'm not sure how that number differs from the 180 particulate number, but both are not good. They say conditions may continue to be bad through Saturday.Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-59099223055714818562007-10-25T16:24:00.001-07:002007-10-25T16:24:35.207-07:00Particulates in the air -- how much is too much?If the most polluted city in the world has an average particulate matter measurement of 169 micrograms per cubic meter (Cairo, Egypt), we are in bad shape here in Temecula. We have a reading of 180 today and some of the nearby cities are even as high as 220 or more. I wrote to the City of Temecula to ask what standard is used to determine whether people should stay inside -- is there one? What Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-32512799046877657042007-10-25T15:08:00.001-07:002007-10-25T15:08:22.206-07:00Soccer season may have to be extendedI can't actually find out what kind of measurements are being used to determine how bad the air is here in Temecula, but since school is closed for 2 days and there hasn't been any soccer practice the entire week, it's got to be bad. I can smell the fire in my yard and I am many miles away, but I'd like some sense of just how bad it is. Particulate counts or whatever measurement is used would be Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6922759.post-40529318339059142682007-10-21T18:59:00.000-07:002007-10-25T15:00:01.336-07:00Two weeks left, lots of photos to goI usually create a DVD for each soccer team using the photos I've taken during the season. The past couple of years I also put together a poster which I've given to the coach. I've done the slideshow on DVD for several years now and they are starting to look very similar. I need some new ideas to make them look better, but I'm not sure what's out there short of moving up to Final Cut Express and Brian Reillyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08540708842545819815noreply@blogger.com0