I just finished up a lunch meeting with a couple of engineers. Robb and I are starting to work up show ideas for TechWiseTV. We always plan to make the show fresh and field ready so to do that we have to always be in the field. To that, I was meeting with some folks for some very fresh security content. The location had a bunch of TV's turned up full blast broadcasting everything from Dr. Phil to the 1958 Giants-Colts game.
I lost 30% of my hearing in Desert Storm, 60% if my wife is yellin' at me, but lucky for me, the hearing loss all in the high frequency range so it does not bother me that much...except in crowds. In crowds it is very difficult for me to hear what folks are saying. It all sounds garbled. At large gatherings, instead of saying; "huh?", "what?" and "can you repeat that please?" I just normally nod my head like some goober plastic nodding dog you would win at the county fair. I can not tell you how many things I volunteered for, that I actually did not realize!
Anyway, while that is an OK workaround in social situations, for business it will not work. So here is the problem: We need fresh content from the field. Most engineers like to share information over chicken wings and beer. Chicken wing and beer places almost ALWAYS have many very loud TVs. I can not accurately hear the content. My neck gets sore from too much nodding...
Enter TV B Gone from Cornfield Electronics. If there was an Academy Award for the coolest geek/ninja tools, TV B Gone would sweep all categories. Basically, TV B Gone is a universal remote control that allows you to turn off (or on) any TV without the need to program it. Just press a button and within 60 seconds the TV turns off. I am averaging about 16 seconds for a set to click off. It does not damage a TV, it is just a very small universal infra red remote control, with one button...off!
I reached into my bag, grabbed my small remote (hides in my hand) press the button and BLAM! TVs start clicking off. When I did it the first time, customers actually started applauding. The staff keep trying to turn it on, but I continued my TV DDOS until they stopped. Business meeting not only continued but it was enhanced because we were not distracted by the video and could communicate at a reasonable level. Ah yes, human interaction. TV B Gone is MUST have in any geeks/ninja tool bag. I gotta run, seems like I volunteered to clean some Dudes car...
But before I do:
This weeks Geek Trivia!
Greek math dude Pythagoras do not come up with Pythagorean Theorem. It was actually Baudhayana that wrote about it centuries before. Party animal Pythagoras started a Dudes only math club called: Mathematikoi. Members believed that math unlocked all of the universe's secrets. But Pythagoras was kinda of whanker. When a fellow club member (Hippasus) discovered irrational numbers; Pythagoras had him executed! Members promptly didn't discover anything else....
Jimmy Ray
Jimmy Ray Purser is the technical co-host for Cisco's TechWise and BizWise TV. Jimmy Ray also conducts advanced training for engineers across North America and Europe and regularly speaks at industry conferences such as VON, CeBIT, N+I, and Networkers. As a field engineer, Jimmy Ray experiences networking first hand behind the console or in the rack. He is an active member in the IEEE and the Ethernet Alliance and has designed, installed and tested numerous networks for Fortune 500 companies, the United States military and other institutions worldwide. He holds 3 U.S. patents for Ethernet security algorithms with two others pending and one defensive publication, as well as numerous other vendor certifications in networking and security.
Purser holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Southern Illinois University is currently pursuing a master of science degree in electrical engineering.
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TV B Gone is wonderful, I've
TV B Gone is wonderful, I've been using it for a while now. They do make ones that turn the volume up/down, mute, channel up/down as well. Sometimes I want to watch the Packer game, but not hear it (Tony Kornheiser is as entertaining as an enema), so the mute option is nice. Plus it makes the natives a bit restless. Another great one is Annoy-a-tron. Nothing like driving a co-worker insane. Definitly fits under the social engineering catagory.
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