Thursday, 28 September 2006
Beautiful day
It was a beautiful fall day here in DFW. The inside of the house was a pleasant 75 degrees Fahrenheit all day, the AC not running at all. We don’t get too many opportunities to throw open all the windows here in the metroplex, so I took advantage.
Few clouds in the sky, the sun shining bright, and I was treated to lunch by a friend, as thanks for a favor I was happy to do and expected no recompense for. Some good family time at dinner helped to wrap up a beautiful day.
How was yours?
Koyono iPod cases, by Orbino
Koyono has announced some new iPod cases, hand-crafted by the leather goodsmen of Orbino. I especially like the brown, embossed crocodile skin Cambino case for video iPod models, seen here.
I’ve been using a Koyono ViewSlimmy as my main wallet for several months, and I love it. Great build quality, and it’s holding its own in day-to-day usage. I would expect much of the same from these iPod cases.
I also have my eye on their BlackCoat Minimal, which, oddly enough, is not available in black.
Macbook Egg Frying
Macbook Egg Frying
Originally uploaded by Pieter Pieterse.
You’ve heard the expression, “hot enough to fry an egg”. Pieter Pieterse decided to do exactly that, whipping up a little breakfast poultry with his MacBook Pro.
Monday, 25 September 2006
links for 2006-09-26
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Remember when your parents told you to behave or else you would find nothing in your stocking at Christmas?
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Ever wanted one of those hollowed-out books holding a gun or money or some other treasure, like in the movies? Make your own with these instructions.
Saturday, 23 September 2006
Shouldn’t everyone have access to clean water?
Jeff lays in to Richard Branson for donating billions to “blue-sky research” on alternative fuels, when for a fraction of that, he could be helping people survive by having access to potable water. I’m all for alternative fuels, but I have to agree with Jeff that priorities seem to be a bit skewed, and it’s not just Branson who’s doing the skewing. (Hey, that’s actually a verb. Wow.)
Jeff notes Dean Kamen’s latest venture, which sounds fascinating, and it reminded me of Blood:Water Mission.
Blood:Water Mission was started by Jars of Clay, as a result of a visit Dan Haseltine, the group’s lead singer, made to Africa. Its mission is to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS by providing clean blood and clean water, digging 1,000 wells, and providing medical facilities to treat the sick. All Blood:Water Mission is asking for is a simple, one-dollar donation per person.
The new technology Dean Kamen is working on will help untold thousands, perhaps millions, but it’s not available yet, and won’t be on a massive scale for a while. In the mean time, please consider a donation to Blood:Water Mission or a potable-water charity of your choice.
Friday, 22 September 2006
links for 2006-09-23
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Enter an item’s ISBN to see how the price compares to Amazon’s. Simple interface for those with web access on their mobile phone.
Tuesday, 19 September 2006
links for 2006-09-20
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Space Invaders Wrapping Paper | Uncrate. Something tells me women will just roll their eyes because they don’t get it, but if you give this to any guy, he’ll love it.
Monday, 18 September 2006
links for 2006-09-19
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Rather than using an animated GIF or Flash, you can use JavaScript and some CSS to do crossfades.
Saturday, 16 September 2006
links for 2006-09-17
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Chris Pultz has released desktop pictures of some of his photography of rural America. Some gems here.
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Let’s see… Berries: check. Citrus: check. Vegetables: It depends on the veggie. Whole grains: check. Salmon: check, though I don’t have it as often as I should. Legumes: check. Nuts and seeds: well, check on the nuts. Lean proteins: check. Tea: does Lipton iced tea count?
No IMAP for Mailsmith
Rich Siegel, CEO of Bare Bones, confirmed earlier this evening on the Mailsmith-Talk email list that Mailsmith will not be seeing IMAP support. In an attempt to lay to rest much oft-repeated rumors about the company’s email client, Siegel said:
Since we released 2.1.5, an enormous amount of work has gone into Mailsmith. Much of that work is underneath the hood, toward supporting new features and improving performance & stability. The version of Mailsmith in which I am typing this message implements a great deal of what has in the past been discussed on this list.
Most of the rework that we’ve completed was started with IMAP support in mind. After several false starts on the whiteboard, however, we put down the pens and carefully backed away. Despite our best desires and intentions and efforts, Mailsmith is not going to support IMAP. (The FAQ has been updated accordingly.)
So if you’re one of those holdouts waiting for the next rev of Mailsmith to support IMAP, so you can switch over, you can stop waiting.
I have never had much need for IMAP, so this is no big loss for me. Mailsmith remains my email client of choice, and despite temptation to switch to Apple Mail, especially with the new Leopard version on the horizon, I look forward to Mailsmith’s next release with enthusiasm.
Friday, 15 September 2006
Wednesday, 13 September 2006
Go, Gary, go!
Congratulations to Gary Matthews, Jr., who became only the third Texas Ranger to hit for the cycle, and the seventh American Leaguer to do so in order: single, double, triple, home run. The homer, which came in the top of the sixth, was a thing of beauty, sailing over the wall in left-center. The Rangers hit five home runs in the big park in Detroit, on their way to routing the Tigers, 11-3.
Monday, 11 September 2006
Inviting the spies to the party
Recall the various pokes of fun Jobs and company took at Microsoft last month during Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference? They’re fresh in my mind, because yesterday I listened to Jobs’ keynote; it was included in Engadget’s podcast line-up, I’m a few episodes behind, and I figured, even though I knew all of the contained info from reading reports on the web, what the hell.
A thought which hit me out of the blue a few moments ago, while I was cleaning dishes, of all things, is this:
More than once, Jobs and company would say something to the effect of “We have other really cool new features coming in Leopard, but we don’t want to share them here because Microsoft may try to copy them in to Vista.” (Vista is, in case you’ve been in a cave with Osama, the next, long-delayed version of Windows. Leopard is the next version of Mac OS X.)
Problem: Who is the largest developer for the Mac OS outside of Apple?
Problem #2: Do you think Microsoft, being the largest developer outside of Apple, didn’t send programmers to WWWDC?
Problem #3: Did not all developers attending WWDC receive the Leopard Developer Preview?
So I guess the jokes are just for those still trapped inside the RDF.
Friday, 08 September 2006
SEALs to receive Navy Cross posthumously
Two members of the U.S. Navy SEALs, killed fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, will be posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the service’s second-highest medal. Danny Dietz and Matthew Axelson, along with a third SEAL, Michael Murphy, were killed while fighting a large enemy force, giving a fourth SEAL teammate a chance to escape.
As the anniversary of September 11th approaches, let us also remember those who struck back at those who struck us, and in doing so, paid the ultimate price. Please consider a donation to the Naval Special Warfare Foundation or the Special Operations Warrior Foundation in names of Dietz, Axelson, and Murphy.
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” —John 15:13
You lost what?!?!?
From the “You’ve Got To Be Kidding Me Department”, Massachusetts State Police have lost eight ounces of Semtex being used in a drill for bomb-sniffing dogs.
More proof that more money can’t buy you intelligence. (Massachusetts has some of the highest tax rates in the nation.)
[Via Schneier.]
Wednesday, 06 September 2006
Core 2 Duo 24-inch iMac
The whole downside to Apple switching to Intel-based processors is that my brand-new-this-past-February 20-inch Core Duo iMac now becomes outdated much faster than it previously would have.
Friday, 01 September 2006
Let this be a lesson to all of you regarding those pledge drives
My status message read:
Barney tomorrow: God help me
Fall season opener
This past Sunday, the 27th, we had the first softball game of the 2006 fall season.
I am continuously amazed how we can go three months without seeing one another, except for those rare moments at church, and yet fall right back in to the same banter and camaraderie in the dugout.
This first game was against the Renegades of First UMC in Lewisville, and we were behind from the first inning on. The banter and camaraderie may have returned, but our playing ability was lacking. Still, we fought on, keeping the score close throughout.
I found myself at left center, where I had played only a couple of times before. We only had the minimum number of players show up, five of each gender, so there were no substitutions available. I don’t mind the outfield, though I need to get my arm strength up, and it would help if I dropped some of my excess baggage—of which there is now ten less pounds—to make it easier to get around the grassy expanse beyond the baselines. I made one great catch; the ball hung up there forever, in the sun, but in the end, I barely had to move at all, just concentrating and not losing sight of that white sphere. I also had a bad error, not squaring myself in front of a hopper, and it bounced right over my glove, allowing an in-the-park home run.
My time at the plate was pretty abysmal, especially considering I’d hit the cages the morning before. I went one for three at bat, but made it to first twice, thanks to a throwing error by the opposition shortstop.
In the end, our team staged a fifth-inning comeback—home team advantage comes through again!—scoring three runs to win the game by one. We were pleased with our hanging in to the end, and hopefully this game cleared all of the cobwebs from our collective play. No games this coming weekend, due to the holiday, so we’ll have to wait until the tenth to face our friends from Flower Mound UMC.
Miscellany
For you baseball aficionados, Tiff has a great story on what happened when she gave tickets to some coworkers, and how they thanked her.
Microsoft’s Macintosh Business Unit, affectionately known as the MacBU, has its own blog.
Via The IconfactorySomeone took the house I, and I’m sure thousands of others, would love to live in—Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater—and put it in Half Life 2.
Via del.icio.us
ATPM 12.09
The September issue of About This Particular Macintosh is now available for your reading pleasure.
Wes examines the kerfluffle du jour in the Mac blogosphere, that of the supposed Airport wi-fi hack which, as more and more evidence is examined, appears to be a complete fake. It’s a shame that this falsehood had to be propagated at the same time Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference was going on.
In the offering is another double dose from Mark, who looks at the power of the press when it comes to a conflict resolution, and the trickle-down effect of broadband access in the United Kingdom. Ted discusses new business models, as they pertain to the outlining community, holding up Hog Bay’s Mori as an example, in this month’s ATPO.
Chuck takes a break from showing you how to get more out of FileMaker, and instead offers a roundup of what’s new in the newly-released FileMaker Pro 8.5. Miraz Jordan continues her look at development tools that can make pages which meet basic standards for Web accessibility, this time giving RapidWeaver the what-for. If you’re interested in running Classic Mac software on your Intel Mac, Chuck shows you how in this month’s How To section.
This month’s desktop pictures are again brought to us courtesy of Robert Reis. These photos of the rolling German countryside were taken during Robert’s recent trip to Deutschland for the World Cup.
Matthew takes the PowerPC-only Guest PC for a spin, while Ellyn decided to talk to her computer this month. She was reviewing iListen after all. Lee examines the TVMax and TVMicro from Miglia, and Wes looks at the very interesting WriteRoom, which will be getting its own workout on phischbowl computing systems.
As usual, you can read the latest issue of ATPM online, or in one of three other formats. We aim to please.