Protean Pixels

"To repost or not to repost this image..." ...in case you never thought about it.

Plenty of us barely backup properly. Maybe we use a local hard drive. Maybe we use pieces of Internet storage in various sites, like Flickr for photos, etc. Many of us are looking forward to iCloud, perhaps.

As many know, Apple announced recently the forthcoming iCloud, a veritable reincarnation of MobileMe. Many might remember that not long after MobileMe kicked off, it basically "kicked out", leaving more than a few frustrated customers.

Now plenty of people use MobileMe, but in recent years, several web-based applications (supported by pc and smartphone apps) have also been well-received. Evernote, Simplenote, Dropbox, to name a few, have offered free and upgraded services for syncing, not storage per se. Keyword: "syncing"...not "backup".

Still, plenty of people rely on those services as quasi-backups, just in case.

In the article "Off-Site Backups", Shawn nicely reviews what we should be doing, beyond syncing services, by talking about real backup services that fulfill the more robust need of protecting your system, or key parts of that system.

This is something that iCloud was never meant for, in case you imagined.

I know certain documents I'm working on are safely backed up, but I personally need to revisit my own backup plan.

You know it's summer in Japan when you see two things: yukata and matcha flavored ice-cream.

Various “art” magazines in Japan have mentioned that tagging (applying graffiti art) to a bullet-train is a nice prize.

Apparently someone got the prize...in 2008

You’ll notice that there’s a barb-wire fence in my previously posted pic of a stopped train. Security around the Japan Rail’s Shinkansen is comparatively higher than other train lines. And despite much lower, sometimes non-existent security, local lines don’t get tagged like the NYC subway.

Japanese cops...going somewhere.

If you are traveling in Japan, and someone wearing a uniform (notice I did not say "a police officer") approaches you asking for your passport or ARC, you should have this with you. It is a fairly good guide for handling what could be a troublesome situation.

Pimped out mobility scooter!

Need to make the early bird special before it closes? Then this 111km/h mobility scooter will get you there fast.

What can I say?

I see an elderly man rolling along in a mobility scooter, puffing away on a cigarette.

I cannot help but think his chances of walking from A to B might at least be 1% higher if he didn't smoke.

Why is a Triple Back Flip on a Bike So Difficult?

First you should watch the clip I posted...or you can watch it by going to the this link.