James Lockman's Blog: Travel Archives

Microsoft Sync less than impressive

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on November 27, 2009 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I had the opportunity to rent a car recently that had Microsoft's Sync technology. Always curious, I plugged in my iPhone, and gave it a whirl.

At first, I was confused because the system was active but confused while Sync cataloged the content on the iPod. After it finished cataloging, though, the system became properly responsive.

I did not try to bluetooth connect the phone part of the iPhone, though, so I have no experience with that.

Pushing the button on the steering wheel woke Sync and it asked me what I wanted to do. I had to tell it to use USB (where the iPhone was tethered), and then ask it to play a specific audiobook. I gave up after two minutes of getting the wrong audiobooks or the wrong part of the book I wanted.

Turning to music, I asked it to "Play artist Blue Oyster Cult," expecting it to play a selection of songs. After three minutes of frustration, repeating myself or rephrasing or speaking louder or softer, I caved to Bill Gates' wishes and settled on the Steely Dan that it eventually selected.

After a while, though, I asked it to "Play Artist Yes," and it had no problem with that request. Encouraged, I tried BOC again, and was stymied.

Of course, pressing and holding the iPhone button and using Voice Command hasn't failed me yet, for BOC or any other artist, audio book, or phone contact.

Score one for Apple.

Maine License Plate causes confusion for Woodbridge, CT Police

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James Lockman

on October 10, 2009 8:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

While visiting family in Woodbridge, CT this weekend, I had to go to the Walgreen's to get some rash cream for Zeke, and on the way back, I must have caught the local constable's attention. A few minutes from having pulled into the driveway, the constable knocks on the door and tells me that my car's registration is expired, and that I had better step outside to explain the situation to him and to the other officer. Of course, I was able to produce proper paperwork and the officers politely apologized for the confusion and left.

The reason for their confusion is that in Maine, each type of license plate can have its own custom plate. In our case, we have a Combination Plate and a regular Passenger Car plate, each with the tag "YPMB." The car with the expired plate is the one about which I called Car Talk and was on the air last year, and it is a passenger car. The Connecticut license plate rules apparently don't allow this, and so both officers were, safe to say, thrown for a loop with this one.

Good service often goes unnoticed

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James Lockman

on May 20, 2009 8:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am sitting in BWI waiting for the last plane to Portland, and I am watching a man clean the terminal area. He may not be an Einstein, but he clearly cares about the appearance of this terminal and literally gets down on hands and knees to pick up scraps left by careless travelers. I have not seen this attention to detail outside of Disney World. I had to personally thank him for the good job he is doing, and I believe from his reaction that he doesn't hear that very often. If you read this and encounter a person doing a thankless job, thank them.

Brr!

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James Lockman

on January 3, 2009 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We arrived home from our annual trip to Long Island, New York, to find that the furnace had run out of water earlier in the day. 41° F in the house at 8:00PM. Right now, it's 49 and rising.

Did I say Brrr?

What a week at Graph Expo 2008

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James Lockman

on October 29, 2008 8:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Man, what a week. It started off with my wife and kids getting t-boned in an intersection at home. View some photos of the carnage. I was in Baltimore, speaking at the PSDA Print Conference, the day before Graph.

Day one of Graph, I spoke on Illustrator CS4, 3D Design and Visualization with Illustrator and Esko Studio, and Variable Data Solutions. That night, I went to the Xerox PIXI awards to accept an honorable mention for our communiPix product, which beat out tons of much larger companies with much more expensive equipment. Score one for the little guys!

Day Two was pretty uneventful, with me picking up the PDF Print Engine talk in the afternoon.

Day three, I was sick as a dog, but did the talks anyway.

Day 4, I got a chance to take a brief tour of the show. Man, there are a lot of nifty new things out there, from bindery to finishing to printing. It makes me wish I had a ton of money so I could finance a whole new shop, but with credit and business capital the way it is, that's not likely to happen. We'll just have to make ComuniPix a hot item in 2009!

Travel stinks, especially when you're away

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James Lockman

on October 25, 2008 5:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am in Baltimore to present a the PSDA Print Solutions conference today, and fly to Chicago tonight to speak at Graph Expo. I got to Baltimore yesterday, and was horrified to learn at the end of the day that My wife, Rori, and three sons were involved in a car accident. They were T-boned by a driver who failed to stop at a stop sign. The impact was Rori's door, and airbags were deployed. Thankfully, everyone was properly buckled, and despite the bruises from the straps, no major injury is apparent yet.

Everyone is (so far) OK, but trauma can take some time to reveal itself. Rori and Teddy are no strangers to this; they were T-boned several years ago by a driver who stepped on the gas instead of the brake while exiting a driveway. It took a year for Rori to recover from that one.

Why do these things always happen when we are powerless to help? That is the stinky part. Here I am, stuck far afield, when my family needs me most.

Complimentary Hotels Worth What You Pay

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James Lockman

on October 8, 2008 8:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

US Airways put me up in a Clarion that should have been renovated (or closed!) about 5 years ago. The restaurant host won't take an order, the Lodgenet had been removed from the TV, and the "smoke free" room reeks of Febreeze.