When using the Pilot Link toolset with an open source operating system to back up a PalmOS device such as the Palm Treo 700p, remember two things: One, when you connect the phone to your system using the USB cable, it will create two devices in the /dev directory, /dev/ttyUSB0 and /dev/ttyUSB1 (assuming that there is only one Treo plugged in at a time). You'll want to reference the second device file, /dev/ttyUSB1. Secondly, press the hotsync button on the cable or activate the hotsync function on the device before running the pilot-link utility. This is the …

I knew that something was going to happen when I spoke to my mom, and she mentioned getting ready for an ice storm in Pittsburgh on Saturday night.

That meant only one thing: It was headed toward DC.

Early this morning, I was awakened by the sound of snowflakes merrily ticking against the window above the bed that Lyssa and I share. Some time after we went to bed last night, the ice storm arrived in DC and the snow began to fall.

And fall.

And fall.

The local weather report says that we're looking and three to six inches …

The trick to getting my cellphone to charge successfully is to twist the charger a little after you plug it in on the flat axis. This aligns the prongs in the power outlet such that they make contact and allow current to flow.

Let me see.. temperatures fell yesterday and it's been snowing pretty constantly all morning. This isn't, in itself, really a bad thing because it's been warmer than it has been lately (if the air's too cold it won't snow) but travelling is going to be a pain because DC drivers, as I've mentioned before, forget how to drive whenever something starts falling from the sky. The fairest thing one can say is that the ones who drive at a fraction of the speed limit are less likely to go out of control and cause a wreck.

On the other hand …