Kevin Chu has written a very comprehensive review of Google Calc. I encourage you to check it out! Thanks for the pointer Kevin.

Google introduced a new web-based spreadsheet that allows for easy sharing of data a couple of days ago. I love to see network services innovation, and this has the look of a good one. I encourage you to visit Google Labs and check it out.

And, don’t forget to visit the “Fresh Tools” tab on My Sun Connection, you’ll see another new goodie there soon…..

Technorati Tags: Network Services Spreadsheet Google

A colleague of mine, Kevin Sturge, mentioned to me that I should do a blog entry about my watch. So Kevin, here it is…

Before I talk about this specific watch, it’s worthwhile to recount my watch history. There’s no easy way to say this, I’m a watch abuser. I know it’s not a “good thing” – but it’s true. I’ve never met a watch I couldn’t somehow break, scratch, lose, crush, or otherwise mangle until 1996.

That fateful day, I had just managed to crunch the latest of my watches by reaching into a tight space in a server cage, getting my wrist stuck, pulling too hard, breaking the watch band, having the darned thing skitter across the floor under my foot where I managed to step on it and crush the glass into the face and hands. It was a fatal injury (Told you I was an abuser, it was expensive, attractive, and it was only 2 months old.)

After the frustration of killing my third watch in a year’s time, I made a promise to myself: I’d simply find a cheap, disposable watch that I wouldn’t feel badly about losing, mangling, and/or killing. A quick trip to Fry’s Electronics and this beauty Casio W-87H was added to my victims list for the princely sum of $8.99 (it was on sale.)

Representative Casio W-87H

Now, in 2006, not only have I managed not to kill, mangle, or lose it, I’ve had it long enough to replace the wristband 4 times! Note to Casio: the 5 year battery is *still* running 5 years after it was supposed to die. Also, the original wrist band did break in the first year (and it was extremely uncomfortable as I dimly recall.)

Having had such success with watches, I decided to do the same thing with sunglasses a couple of years later. (yes, I’m a sunglasses abuser too.) I hasn’t worked yet.

Well, here’s to you Casio W-87H. I’ve kicked you, crushed you, dropped you in tight places, traveled over 500,000 miles with you. You delivered what Timex promises – you’ve taken a licking and kept on ticking. I hope we get another decade of use together.

The actual survivor Casio W-87H on my wrist

Technorati Tags: Humor Watch Casio

Think people have gone over the edge with patent craziness? If not, this entry might just sway you. The Washington Post reports that an Ohio man has received a patent for a cordless jumprope. That’s right, just the handles, none of that inconvenient rope. After all, the exercise is all in the jumping, right?

cordless jumprope

I thought that one was bad but then followed a link to a most excellent site, Patently Silly, where all the latest “inventions of note” are duly analyzed and lampooned. No doubt, one of these will hit it big (my bet, “house slippers” in the Midwest…..) Their tagline? “The humor of invention.” Priceless.

“house slippers”

“gas combustion hair dryer” (my note: single use item)

Technorati Tags: Humor Innovation Patents

As promised, some new features have been introduced in the My Sun Connection portal. Chief among them, performance and tuning enhancements, many small requests for enhancement, as well as the new “Community” tab.

If you haven’t dropped in to see what we’re doing, now is a good time. This week we should have a new thing or two on “Fresh Tools” as well.