Random Gearhead Notes

Introducing the Solar Tree

2007-12-24T07:21:00.000-05:00

Because real trees just are not effecient enough...

I just read an article on solar trees - see the link below. The idea is that these "trees" will use solar panels to charge batteries that will power street lights, thereby reducing power use in the city and reducing the overall carbon footprint. It does seem to beg the question, what about the real trees and their negative carbon footprint? Are we replacing CO2 processing trees with plastic trees to reduce rather then eliminate green house gasses? A single tree is a pretty efficient carbon dioxide processing plant. Maybe some combination of real trees and street lamps would be ok. I guess something just rubs me the wrong way about calling these "trees".

Check it out for yourself by reading Introducing the Solar Tree

An RSS Tutorial for mortals

2007-11-25T19:46:00.000-05:00

I've been asked more than once to explain this "RSS Thing" to friends and family since it has become prevalent across the web. I ran across a nice tutorial that explains it a little better then I was doing, from a guy in Australia, formerly of Baltimore. Check it out and tell me if you like it.

Tattoo Technology

2007-11-21T08:26:00.000-05:00

Who would have thought - technology invades the ink parlor. Check out this blog entry, it details a new 3D process a designer came up with.

I am not sure that I like this idea - some of the process is in the unknown I think. Of course, you still have the fact that a human artist is actually laying down the ink regardless of what the computer model shows, still, I think something is lost.

Just in case 3D ink models are not enough - they now have removable ink made with micro beads that dissolve with one laser pass for those who want a "semi-permanent" tattoo. What is this, hair coloring?

CSS and clean HTML

2007-11-17T10:09:00.000-05:00

While playing around with CSS, I have found that tagging content and page elements has taken on a whole new importance. Look at sites like the CSS Zen Garden to see just how powerful this concept is. A great little reference to help you get started with HTML layout can be found at http://css-tricks.com/examples/CleanCode/CleanCode.jpg.

He has much more content to explore that will give you tips & tricks to use with your CSS work.

Photoshop Brushes

2007-11-17T09:43:00.001-05:00

I really have to get rid of my stumble! toolbar - while it provides some great links it sure can suck up time. I ran across a link to a collection of Photoshop brushes that are vary neat. Check them out at http://www.photoshoproadmap.com

Rebuilding iTunes database

2007-09-27T12:26:00.000-05:00

One of my biggest complaints about iTunes is that there is no built in way to rebuild your database when files are moved or deleted. I ran across this utility today and it worked great! Check it out at http://itlu.ownz.ch/wordpress/

Computer Wisdom

2007-08-29T15:56:00.000-05:00

* There are two ways to write error-free programs; only the third one works.
* A printer consists of three main parts: the case, the jammed paper tray and the blinking red light.
* The programmer's national anthem is 'AAAAAAAARRRRGHHHHH!!'.
* At the source of every error which is blamed on the computer, you will find at least two human errors, including the error of blaming it on the computer.
* Beta. Software undergoes beta testing shortly before it's released. Beta is Latin for "still doesn't work."
* Computer analyst to programmer: "You start coding. I'll go find out what they want."
* Computer Science: solving today's problems tomorrow.
* Hidden DOS secret: add BUGS=OFF to your CONFIG.SYS
* Hit any user to continue.
* I wish life had an UNDO function.
* If your computer says, "Printer out of Paper," this problem cannot be resolved by continuously clicking the "OK" button.
* It said "Insert disk 3..." but only 2 fit in the drive.
* Microsoft Windows: computing While U Wait
* 665.9238429876 - Number of the Pentium Beast
* I have yet to meet a C compiler that is more friendly and easier to use than eating soup with a knife.
* My software never has bugs. It just develops random features.
* Programming graphics in X is like finding sqrt(pi) using Roman numerals.
* "To know recursion, you must first know recursion"
* Life's unfair - but root password helps!
* Mountain Dew and doughnuts... because breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
* Hey! It compiles! Ship it!
* "Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning.
* Intel: We put the "um..." in Pentium.
* Helpdesk tip #2: When the support analyst says "Click...", wait for the rest of the sentence.
* BREAKFAST.COM Halted...Cereal Port Not Responding
* BUFFERS=20 FILES=15 2nd down, 4th quarter, 5 yards to go!
* As a computer, I find your faith in technology amusing.
* Disinformation is not as good as datinformation.
* Smash forehead on keyboard to continue.....
* Enter any 11-digit prime number to continue...
* All wiyht. Rho sritched mg kegtops awound?
* A good programmer makes all the right mistakes.
* Managing programmers is like herding cats.
* "There is an old saying that if a million monkeys typed on a million keyboards for a million years, eventually all the works of Shakespeare would be produced. Now, thanks to Usenet, we know this is not true."
* "A good programmer is someone who looks both ways before crossing a one-way street."
* C makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot. C++ makes it harder, but when you do, it blows away your whole leg.
* A computer scientist is someone who, when told to "Go to Hell," sees the "go to," rather than the destination, as harmful.
* 1010011010 - The binary number of the Beast
* APATHY ERROR: Don't bother striking any key. Application has reported a "Not My Fault" in module KRNL.EXE in line 0200:103F
* "The three most dangerous things in the world are a programmer with a soldering iron, a hardware type with a software patch and a user with an idea."

ZOHO goes offline!

2007-08-26T19:04:00.001-05:00

In case you were not aware, there is a great office solution available online for use anywhere - one of the chief drawbacks to it was there was no offline capability. Zoho has now added R/O offline and is bringing R/W soon! I like it. Check out the intro video below.

IT Quotes ...

2007-08-25T13:02:00.000-05:00

2400 Baud makes you want to get out and push!!

I hit the CTRL key but I'm still not in control!

Will the information superhighway have any rest stops?

Disk Full - Press F1 to belch.

Backup not found: (A)bort (R)etry (T)hrowup

Backup not found: (A)bort (R)etry (P)anic

(A)bort, (R)etry, (T)ake down entire network?

(A)bort, (R)etry, (G)et a beer?

If debugging is the process of removing bugs, then programming be
the process of putting them in.

Programmers don't die, they just GOSUB without RETURN.

Programmer - A red-eyed, mumbling mammal capable of conversing
with inanimate objects.

Real programmers don't document. If it was hard to write, it
should be hard to understand."

Daddy, why doesn't this magnet pick up this floppy disk?

Artificial Intelligence usually beats real stupidity.

C program run. C program crash. C programmer quit.
Live free or die!

Too much is never enough!

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Practice makes perfect!

Everybody loves to see justice done on somebody else.

Buy a better computer so you can reboot faster.

If debugging is the process of removing bugs, then programming be
the process of putting them in.

Makes the world goes round...

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and
you feed him and his family for a lifetime.

Give a man an answer, and today's frustration is gone. Teach him to
program, and he will be frustrated for the rest of his life.

Hit a man on the head with a fish, and he'll have a headache for a day.

This .sig is under construc

No good deed goes unpunished.

My name is Dump, Core Dump.

Digital Photography School

2007-08-09T14:54:00.001-05:00

While stumbling around the net, I ran into a great photo/shop site IMO. If you are a photography enthusiast and / or a Photoshop fan, I think this one will appeal to you. The site can be found at http://digital-photography-school.com/. The site is a collection of tips, tutorials, sample work and more and I found it to be educational and entertaining at the same time. Hats off to Darren Rowse, the guy behind the site.

Work it...

2007-07-17T07:16:00.000-05:00

This video is more than a little weird, but after the slow start, it gets more impressive. I wonder how much practice this took?

The truth can sometimes hurt

2007-07-16T20:55:00.000-05:00

What else needs said?

Drivers and Manuals

2007-07-16T14:31:00.000-05:00

NetGear WG-111 V2

Beat the stress with bubble wrap

2007-07-16T14:00:00.000-05:00

How can you deny that satisfaction that comes from patiently working your way through a piece of bubble wrap? Ok, maybe you can, but it's still fun. Here for your popping pleasure is a virtual piece I lifted off the net.

The Wyzo experience...

2007-07-09T20:19:00.000-05:00

lifted from the Wyzo website

Wyzo is an awesome new browser that focuses on optimizing your online media experience. Wyzo gives you easy access to all your favourite media sites, downloading media content and inform your friends about your discoveries.
BitTorrent™ Made Easy

We've integrated your torrent downloads inside our download manager, so downloading torrents has never been so easy! Now you can manage your web and torrent downloads from the same window. Start downloads with just one click.
Secure Web Browsing

Wyzo allows you to browse the web securely using the latest protection and safety technologies. Built from the ground up on the Firefox core, Wyzo will make sure your experience is smart, safe, and hassle-free.

I downloaded it and it seems ok, not all that it could be. I will play around with the torrent client more to see if that's really worth it. I also am trying out the FireFox plugin with higher hopes. Check it out for yourself at: http://www.wyzo.com/.

Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years

2007-07-08T19:25:00.000-05:00

The title is shamelessly stolen from Peter Norvig, Director of Research at Google. This guy is the consumate hacker, IMHO. Check out this paper he put out on the topic. http://www.norvig.com/21-days.html

Programmer, Developer or Hacker

2007-07-08T19:12:00.000-05:00

What's the difference between a programmer and a developer, or even a hacker? A question no real hacker or even a developer would ask, but one I still hear from co-workers or friends in one form or another.

I've met and managed a lot of programmers, I've even worked with a bunch. It is not a bundle of fun. Programmers tend to be people who write code of some type in A language that they are comfortable with, for a paycheck. They are not known for independent thinking and are not known for passion about their work.

Developers on the other hand usually tend to be people who write in several languages, with a passion for whatever language is cool to them for whatever reason they have, rational or otherwise. They tend to look at the world as a problem to be solved and will argue, sometimes passionately, over their brand of right for the solution. They work well independently and sometimes with others. I have worked with a number of these types and I enjoy it a lot more. These are some of the more fun people to hang out with. They usually have a good sense of humor and are fairly well read.

Hackers are another breed. A really good dev may desire to attain true hacker status, but not be willing to make the time required due to a personal life. I have worked with and also managed a couple of real hackers. Of the three types, this is my favorite. Not because of the impressive social skills attained by 20 out of 24 hours at the keyboard, rather because they are generally so incredibly intelligent. I wish I could say I have attained hacker status, but it would be untrue. I have been called one, and while flattered, I have to say that at best I was an aspiring hacker. With the time I spend on dev work at this point in my life, true hacker status is a long way off for me. It has become a term loosely thrown around anymore and misused as bad as the word Diva in pop culture.

Legacy Video Games

2007-07-08T17:43:00.000-05:00

I ran across a find today that will make any old gamers wax nostalgic. Check out http://www.everyvideogame.com/play-nes-Contra_(U).htm. Contra and a whole bunch of other NES games are available via an online emulator.

Plethora of web links

2007-07-03T14:53:00.000-05:00

Another good find: http://www.alvit.de/handbook/

This is a page with links to all sorts of web content and developer tools and widgets. Enjoy

Blog Hacks

2007-07-03T10:18:00.000-05:00

I have several blogs and online "properties" that I maintain and I wanted to share styles and content among them. I also wanted to minimize redundancy. To that end I am collecting most of the customizations here, with pointers to more detail in some cases.
First off, I needed to share content among my sites so I needed a file host. GooglePages fit that bill very nicely and can be found over at http://googlepages.google.com.

Shared Lib Includes:

These go at the top of every page / template I use

<link href='http://jking.net.googlepages.com/sharedBlogStyleSheet.css' rel='stylesheet' type="'text/css'/">

<script src='http://jking.net.googlepages.com/sharedBlogJS.js' type='text/javascript'>

These two files hold the shared styles that I can then customize further in individual site files.

Google Pages

2007-07-02T20:10:00.000-05:00

I recently gave up my paid hosting account to give a go at using all free web services to create a new virtual site that offered even more functionality. One of the needs for this project was a place to store simple things like shared files, js libs and what not. I spent some time banging around the net until I remembered that google page creator offered just such a thing. Huzzah, problem solved and even better, staying on the base google platform.

Check out google page creator at http://pages.google.com/

Online Office Replacements

2007-07-02T19:24:00.000-05:00

As I move to the online line mashup model, I have been looking at replacements for other applications that I use. What can I do using just a web browser? These links are for tools and sites that I have found useful for this purpose. This was originally posted on my main site blog, but here I will dig a little more into the guts I hope.

For now, check out the links below.

Google Docs: This site from Google has a decent word processor and spreadsheet as well as some other gadgets but it is not tops in functionality.
Zoho: This suite has the best setup I have found so far. I like the way the software works and the suite is robust.

CSS Based Slider Menu

2007-07-01T14:32:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Stu Nicholls, over at CSSPlay I got a jump on making vertical sliding menus for my site from a standard, compliant data definition list. I was looking for a good way to make a menu that did not fly all over and was simple to use, while being compliant with existing standards. I took what he had as my foundation and modified it slightly for my use. You can check it out on my main site.

Attach an icon to anything

2007-07-01T14:27:00.001-05:00

Through the magic of CSS, we can do so much more then ever before with web pages. One of my favorite recent tips is the ability to attach icons to links (or really anything) based on custom attributes. Rather then re-write the whole article, I am linking it here: http://www.hunlock.com/blogs/Attach_icons_to_anything_with_CSS.

Try it out and be amazed. The tip works on all new (2007) browsers but will degrade gracefully for older systems. They will simply not see the icons.

love the V-Twin

2007-06-27T18:46:00.001-05:00

waxing nostalgic... what can I say about this lovely. I miss her. :)

Update on my ppc-6700

2007-06-23T18:17:00.000-05:00

So... After my posts about the rotten experience I had with Verizon and my phone, I got a new one and I'm happy with it. Finally. Actually, I am very happy to have it right now. The 802.11 support and the office and other app integration has been a boon to me as of late. Being disconnected from my laptops, I have relied on my phone for email and web connectivity as well as office docs and so on.

Having a convergence device that holds music, photos, accesses the cell networks and 802.11 networks as well as lets me run my productivity apps is better then you might think at first. One device - manages most. Nothing optimally, but most things acceptably. I'll keep it. (for now)

Wildcharge

2007-06-11T11:42:00.000-05:00

While at work today, I finally came across an (almost) shipping version of what I have been hoping for. It's called Wildcharge and it offers true wireless power. There are a number of competing products that I've found as well indicating that the market may finally be ready! True wireless - I will buy it!

Verizon and my ppc-6700

2007-06-05T21:16:00.000-05:00

So a while ago, I bought a new ppc-6700 from Verizon wireless to consolidate some functionality. I have my office apps, mapping software, photos, some tunes and oh yeah - a phone, all in one convenient device. Sounds good, right? I thought so. Then it happened. The screen stopped responding to input - bummer, but hey, I have the warranty through Verizon, plus the insurance plan so I'm covered. (I thought)

I went through all the troubleshooting steps in the manual and also the ones I found online, finally resetting it to factory defaults. When I took it to the Verizon tech, it took over an hour of explanation and repeating the steps to convince them to give me a replacement. Of course, none was to be had in the store but they would mail me a refurb device (I thought it was supposed to be a new one) in a week - quicker if I wanted to pay for it. No thanks, I'll wait the week.

The new device arrived! So I got it up and running and I moved all my stuff over. Then it began flaking out on me. At first, it was random - power cycling and so on. As time went on, it got worse and worse until it just shut itself completely off every time I left it alone for more than a matter of minutes. This is bad, especially when you use it for business as well as fun. Another trip to Verizon#$%@ This time, only 20 minutes to convince them it was broken since it would not stay on to troubleshoot - I suppose that's progress, right? Then I had to convince the phone rep that I did not want to buy another phone (I was eligible for an upgrade) but I wanted them to replace the phone again under warranty. Well, they are shipping a new one, we will see how it goes. I think the next phone I buy will be a mil-spec basic phone...

Got my new phone - wouldn't you know it, it failed also. Again Verizon hit me with the, why don't you just pay to upgrade line. Well, that's customer service. It took a mention of the better business bureau to get them to rethink their position. Finally I got a new phone. Let's hope I meet with more success then the last couple of times. At this point I have spent hours on the phone with Verizon and as much time in the store itself. Whatever happened to customer service? I guess it went the way of the dinos and bag phones...

MS Office "Save as PDF"

2007-05-25T12:39:00.000-05:00

If you use Microsoft Office 2007, you need this add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS

This download allows you to export and save to the PDF and XPS formats in eight 2007 Microsoft Office programs. It also allows you to send as e-mail attachment in the PDF and XPS formats in a subset of these programs. It was a part of the standard functionality until Adobe got a little tweaked with Microsoft stepping on their toes. Even with it a separate download, it's still pretty painless except the Windows Genuine Annoyance confirmation.

Get it now

Dev Links

2007-05-21T19:37:00.000-05:00

I have a few links to some good blogs and resources that I got from MS Devs or from my own research so I figured I would post them here to share and keep as a reference.

Sijin Joseph's blog - Dev Resources

Scott Guthries blog - an MS Dev

MSDN Blogs

Brian Goldfarb's Blog

JrzyShr Dev Guy
Peter Laudati's bits + bytes from exit 117...

.net DEvHammer
Just what IS a Developer Evangelist, anyway?

Microsofts open source projects

2007-05-21T19:24:00.000-05:00

While attending the HLS Devcon today, I heard one of the sweetest sounds I have yet heard from a Microsoft conference... In a session on Ajax, the presenter spoke about the technology, what it could do and how it worked. Then came the punchline... by the way, it works with PHP, Java, on Apache, whatever you want. Not the party line about the language of your choice being available in the VS IDE, rather this was talking about using a Microsoft technology to help devs build their php sites. Well done Microsoft.

Also a topic of conversation was the codeplex resource. This is a Microsoft repository for open source projects. In their own words, "CodePlex is Microsoft's open source project hosting web site. You can use CodePlex to create new projects to share with the world, join others who have already started their own projects, or use the applications on this site and provide feedback."

How to pronounce Linux

2007-04-21T21:04:00.000-05:00

Another stumble find - to settle the Linux pronunciation debate once and for all, here is audio from Linus Torvalds himself (the original Linux author) pronouncing the word... with a slight accent :) Saying Linux

Firefox Extensions for Web Developers (and blog hackers)

2007-04-20T13:06:00.000-05:00

The days of looking at an area on a web page and guessing the pixel dimensions or color are over! Well, at least if you have a few tools and use Firefox. I like IE, but Firefox has largely replaced it for my day to day usage primarily due to the customization and tools available for Firefox.

Here are a few add-ins that I find to be very helpful for web development and hacking my blogs or other web properties I use.

The eye dropper utility.
- This is a great little widget that gives you an eye dropper in the bottom of your status bar. If you click the eye dropper, you can identify the color of any area on your page in RGB or Hex.
- Get it at https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/271

The measure it utility.
- This add-in gives you a little ruler in the status bar that you can click to get a measurement overlay giving you precise pixel dimensions of any screen area. Great for measuring that new page element location or footer area and so on.
- Get it at https://https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/539/

Web Developer
- As described by CW: "Web Developer is another virtual Swiss Army Knife for coding. There's some overlap with Firebug, but where Firebug concerns itself almost exclusively with the content of a Web page, Web Developer offers tools to tweak how you're interacting with the page." I like this integration with the tool bar and the ability to work with CSS in particular.
- Get it at https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/60/

Random Quotes / Messages

2007-04-14T15:39:00.000-05:00

Random quotes are a nice addition to a site to add a little fun content so I am including directions here to put them on your own blog.

Select a list of quotes to put on your blog.

Go to the templates tab on your blog customization and select add a new page element.

Select the HTML / JavaScript element

Paste the following code into the block

<i><center><script language="JavaScript">
//store the quotations in arrays
//change this number to reflect the number of quotes
quotes = new Array(2);
//just follow this pattern to add more quotes
quotes[0] = "Shave your head, get a wet sponge, and flip the switch, 'cause you're about to get a Truthocution!<br/>Stephen Colbert";
quotes[1] = "I believe all God's creatures have a soul... except bears, bears are Godless killing machines!<br/>Stephen Colbert";
//calculate a random index
index = Math.floor(Math.random() * quotes.length);
//display the quotation
document.write("\n");
document.write(quotes[index]);
</script></center></i>
</pre></li>

You can give the element a title if you want, but it is not needed

Save the element and drop in in your page where you want it.

Viola, you have random quotes...

Ok.... thanks for the applause, no really, thank you... Ok. So there are variations of this script all over the net. You can find a version you like better or hack this one up. Follow the links to check out sites with great little scripts and widgets for your blog, or watch here for more.

File Synchronization

2007-04-12T18:54:00.000-05:00

A while ago, I was looking for a way to keep my multiple drives and systems in synch, and also to back up my files. As it turns out, so was my dad. I spent some time rummaging around the web and I came up with allwaysync. This application is easily the BEST at what is does, especially for the money. (free for personal use)

From the vendor: "Allway Sync uses innovative synchronization algorithms to synchronize your data between desktop PCs, laptops, USB drives and more. Allway Sync combines bulletproof reliability with an extremely easy-to-use interface."

We both use it at this point and it has been working most efficaciously. Pull the application down from http://allwaysync.com/ to give it a try.

Photo sharing sites

2007-04-10T18:59:00.000-05:00

I love to take pictures. I am an official photo junkie - the guy at the party who has the camera and says smile :) while you're trying to finish your drink. At any rate, when you take a lot of photos, you need a way to share them. I looked at all the free sites I could find and I could not find anything I was happy with. I wanted something that would let me customize and personalize. I also wanted to be able to lock down collections and share others.

To skip to the punchline, I found smugmug and never looked back. I still use a few free services for other things but I love my smugmug account. The pure hackability (good word, eh?)of the service is amazing and the community around the service is superb. It's worth a visit if you do any online photo sharing.

Hack your blog

2007-04-10T17:35:00.000-05:00

While working on one of my other blogs, I have been playing around with blog hacks and tools. Basically what I've found is that blogspot is very similar to my favorite photo host (smugmug) in that is it highly customizable and uses standard naming conventions, styles and variables for templates.

Taking this into account, there is a growing community of "blog hackers" that have ready made widgets to drop into the blogs and it is fairly straight forward to make your own. I'm going to build a list of these hacks and make a link list as a starting point. Look for more content over time on this subject.

FileWatcher Object and Novell

2006-10-01T14:07:00.000-05:00

So, I'm not sure how many of you have ran into this problem, but I discovered that the FileWatcher Object does not perform correctly in a Novell environment. Wow - what a shock eh? I wrote this nice little app that monitors for file activity and sends alerts and so on based on a config file only to discover the Novell issues on a dev deployment. I have since learned to build a test harness to verify ALL functionality in our "Corporate Environment"
I did re-build the application with a new approach using the last modified information and a pre-defined scan frequency to check for new files.

Useful online resources

2006-10-01T13:58:00.000-05:00

While browsing through a recent issus of PC World, I came across some great links for online resources. This caused me to look a little more on my own. Here are the ones that are listed. More reviews coming later.

Online Office Challengers
These offer replacements for word processing and other desktop apps

Large File Delivery services - think UPS for e-packages

Online Calendaring