I created my own Roku channel

I am in geek heaven with our new Roku box. This book-sized media player is simple to use and its simple to write applications for it. I signed up for the Roku SDK a few days ago and this evening I began working on a way to get my saved media to play on it. I’m happy to say I succeeded!

I used the homevideo apps by Brian Lane to create the appropriate XML files on my Apache server. It was simply a matter of adjusting the pathnames and everything worked.
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Gerry Reid gave the gift of life

On WTVD’s evening newscast tonight my friend Mandy Reid talked about the organ donations of her husband and my friend, Gerry Reid. It was a reminder of all the lives that were powerfully changed by his passing. It was tough watching it but it really is a story that must be shared.

I am an organ donor and so is Kelly. I hope those of you reading this will also choose to become an organ donor. One day you, too, could become a hero like Gerry.

Santa’s not bringing Google Fiber this year

It turns out that Santa’s backhoe won’t be making the rounds this year, after all. Google announced today that they are delaying their site selections for Google Fiber until next year. According to Milo Medin, Google’s new Vice President of Access Services, the overwhelming response received from communities has added to the time needed to evaluate all proposals.

Hey, Google, I hear Google Fiber makes a great birthday present (hint, hint).

Family wants to know how teen snuck onto plane

It’s truly a tragedy that Delvonte Tisdale fell from the wheel well of an airplane. That said, I don’t understand how the family can blame airport security when it was apparently this young man’s poor decision which resulted in his death.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Family and friends of a North Carolina teen who fell from the sky after stowing away in an airplane’s wheel well say they are haunted by the boy’s death and wondering why security didn’t stop him from climbing onto the aircraft.

via Family wants to know how teen snuck onto plane :: WRAL.com.

Black segregation in US drops to lowest in century

This makes me happy.

America’s neighborhoods became more integrated last year than during any time in at least a century as a rising black middle class moved into fast-growing white areas in the South and West.

Still, ethnic segregation in many parts of the U.S. persisted, particularly for Hispanics.

Segregation among blacks and whites fell in roughly three-quarters of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas as the two racial groups spread more evenly between inner cities and suburbs, according to recent census data.

Black segregation in US drops to lowest in century :: WRAL.com.

Weather online again

MT.Net weather station file photo

Well, it took me about a year after I set up my weather station in our current house before I actually connected it to the outside world but last night I got around to it. Seeing Travis’s taped-up toy weather station sitting sadly in yesterday’s rain got me motivated to give the kids some weather graphs and statistics to check whenever they want.

Now anyone can check the weather in East Raleigh by clicking on this link. Weather information updates every 10 minutes “on the elevens.” I still have to repair my wind speed gauge but everything else is working. Eventually I hope to upgrade to wireless (and solar) instruments I can mount above the roof but this will work for now.